On Monday, January 19^th, a group of friends and colleagues from the Department of Plant Agriculture gave a little of their time and one pint of themselves to support and save the lives of many across Canada.  Joined by faculty, staff, and graduate students alike, 25 donors marked their calendars for a very special donation celebration. 

This is the third year that the ‘Plant Ag Life Savers’ have participated in the Canadian Blood Services’ ‘Partners for Life’ program.  Led by Fawn Turner, a PhD student in the Department of Plant Agriculture, the group has contributed more than 100 donations during this time.  Turner welcomes both new and experienced donors to participate in the group, explaining the procedures, the requirements for eligibility, and the rewarding nature of the experience. 

The effort of all donors is something to be proud of and this is particularly true for Pete Smith, a Plant Ag technician, who celebrated his 100^th donation with this trip!  Recognized by the nurses as ‘one of their regulars’, Pete has set the bar for the other donors with his lifelong dedication.  It was certainly not an opportunity to miss celebrating with cake!

Canadian Blood Services relies entirely on the donations of volunteers to ensure that they can save the lives of all accident and emergency victims in Canada, as well as maintain the lives of people such as those with anemia, many cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, as a regular part of many surgical procedures, and the list goes on.  It can take as many as 50 donors to save the life of one car accident victim!  In addition, the requirements for blood transfusions can be frequent and need the contribution of many donors as a regular part of life. 

For example, a little boy named Jett has a hereditary blood disorder and is completely dependent upon blood transfusions every 4 weeks to survive.  He will need the regular contribution of many donors his entire life, just to save his own:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_BzWnDUYx8

While many donors are often needed, sometimes one donor can be all that makes the difference.  Nicholas, born 12 weeks prematurely and weighing only two pounds, received two blood transfusions three weeks apart from a single donation which saved his life and, to which his family credits one anonymous person for the joy of their son and little brother:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPIO3AqY2FM

This means that the lives of thousands in Canada rely on the kindness of strangers to survive.  Blood donation is a wonderful way to make a real and immediate difference in other people's lives.  Plant Ag is proud to participate in blood donation & we hope that you will join us for our next donation in two months!

For more information, please visit www.blood.ca, call 1-888-2-DONATE or, contact Fawn (fturner@uoguelph.ca).

Donors: Istvan Rajcan, Alireza Navabi, Ralph Martin, Katerina Jordan, Pete Smith, Tom Smith, Mike Cowbrough, Rodger Tschanz, Adel Zarei, Gregory Downs, Mina Kaviani, Tara Israel, Colbey Templeman, Fawn Turner, Christopher Budd, Ann Meyer, Jonathan Roepke, Kamal Khadka, Anna Krzywdzinski, Paul Cote, Ehsan Behazin, Chevonne Carlow, Joseph Fargiorgio, Alex Laffoley, Evan Rand

Photo and Post credit Fawn Turner