For business management and entrepreneurship student Samantha Comtois, the bus crash at Westboro Station is the reason she wanted to donate blood at the Algonquin donor clinic Jan. 17.
“After the Westboro bus crash, I read the blood supply depleted significantly,” said Comtois.
Canadian Blood Services came to Algonquin and set up their mobile donation clinic in Salon A of the cafeteria. The clinic saw many faculty, students and members of the community donate blood.
Miguel Boucher, a mechanical engineering technology student in his last semester, believes it is important to donate blood.
“I had family members that needed blood. I thought I’d return the favour,” said Boucher.
According to Eric Paterson, event coordinator for the Ottawa area for Canadian Blood Services, blood donation is essential for many different reasons.
“Donating blood is important because of the lifesaving nature of the donation. It’s an opportunity for people to impact another individual directly. We often think of blood donation as a mechanism to replace blood loss, but blood donation goes much beyond that,” said Paterson.
“For example, blood and blood products are used in a variety of cancer treatments, and platelets and plasma are used as part of treatments for a variety of immune disorders and illnesses. Every 60 seconds a Canadian needs blood or a blood product, and donating blood helps ensure that it is there for them,” said Paterson.
Another drive is planned for Feb. 11 from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m at Algonquin College in Salon A in the cafeteria. For more information, you can visit www.blood.ca or call 1-888-2DONATE.