You, too, can be cool like Rebecca West

NEWS RELEASE

CANADIAN BLOOD SERVICES

************************* Rebecca West honoured by Canadian Blood Services

SAULT STE. MARIE, ON – Rebecca West will be among the award recipients at the 9th annual Canadian Blood Services ‘Honouring Our Lifeblood’ event.

The 2008 ceremony will recognize more than 30 individuals and organizations who represent the hundreds of thousands of blood and stem cell donors, volunteers, community groups, sponsors and partners from across Canada.

The event, to be held at the Canada Museum of Science and Technology on Monday, September 15, marks the 10th anniversary of Canadian Blood Services, which was created in 1998 following recommendations from the Krever Commission of Inquiry on the Blood System in Canada.

Rebecca West’s story

Rebecca is a 17-year-old member of the Ontario Peer Helpers who wanted to show her friends how good it feels to make a difference.

She had accompanied her parents to various blood drives and understood what it meant to donate, and how important it was.

As her 17th birthday approached last fall, she decided she wanted to organize a blood drive.

Since there were no clinics in her area, she contacted the nearest mobile clinic in Sault Ste. Marie, over 30 minutes away, to find out how to proceed.

She worked with the school principal to sign up students and organized transportation to bring her fellow students to the clinic.

She wanted to share her experience of donating for the first time with her classmates and managed to bring along 20 new donors.

Although numerous students were apprehensive about donating for the first time, many have become repeat donors after realizing how simple the procedure really is.

Unfortunately, Rebecca was unable to donate that first time, because her veins were too small, but she continues to volunteer at the clinic and organize student groups to donate. “This makes me very happy,” she says, “and I can’t wait until I can donate.”

Upcoming blood donor clinic in Sault Ste. Marie

We are encouraging local residents of Sault Ste. Marie to come and donate at the Community Blood Donor Clinic on September 16, 17 or 18 located at the Croatian Hall.

On average, every minute of every day, someone in Canada needs blood or blood products.

And the hour it takes to give has the potential to save up to three lives. To book your appointment, call 1-888-2-DONATE.

About Canadian Blood Services

Canadian Blood Services is a national not-for-profit charitable organization that manages the blood supply in all Canadian provinces and territories (except Québec) and oversees OneMatch – the Stem Cell and Marrow Network.

A dedicated team of 4,800 staff and 17,000 volunteers enable Canadian Blood Services to operate 40 permanent collection sites and more than 20,000 donor clinics annually.

While Canadian Blood Services is a non-governmental organization, it receives operational funding from the provincial and territorial ministers of health, and is regulated by Health Canada.

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