Rideau Park United Church

Greenboro Blood Donor Clinics

Greenboro Blood Donor Clinics (Minute for Mission: 13 March 2005) by Marilyn Law

Over the last year or so you may have noticed that periodically in the weekly bulletin there is an announcement about an upcoming Blood Donor Clinic at Greenboro Community Centre.

In the Fall of 2003, the church received a letter from a group of religious leaders in Ottawa who asked for our help in promoting the donation of blood. The letter was referred to the Social Action/Outreach Committee and we agreed to contact the Canadian Blood Service to see what we could do to help. There were several options, including holding a blood donor clinic here at the church or advertising upcoming clinics. While we may eventually arrange for a clinic at the church, in the meantime we did agree to publish the dates for the clinics that are held regularly at the Greenboro Community Centre. They take place every two or three months. The last one was on March 2nd, 2005 and the next one is on May 4th, 2005.

Why are we doing this? Someone, somewhere in Canada, every minute of every day, requires a blood transfusion for some medical problem, either because of surgery, cancer treatment, hip replacement or organ transplants. Transplants have increased from 16 per million in 1981 to 59 per million in 2000.

You may donate whole blood or register to donate plasma, which may be transfused into a patient or used for other products, and platelets. There is also a bone marrow registry which is used for bone marrow transplants.

Blood is an essential element of life. I hope, if you are able, that you will give blood, either at the upcoming clinics at the Greenboro Community Centre or at other clinics throughout Ottawa. It does not take very long and you have a wonderful feeling of satisfaction that your blood will be used to assist someone else.

In case you're wondering if she practices what she preaches, well I used to. But I have been to England and France several times, in fact more than twelve weeks in twenty years, and as a result I am now banned from giving blood, because I might have eaten beef from a mad cow. However, I do understand the reason why they won't let me give blood any more, and I also appreciate that there other ways I can help, such as encouraging you and others to donate blood if you can.