HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2011-05-19, Page 24PAGE 24. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2011.Blood drivereturns to Blyth
For a good cause
Members of the Grey Fire Department, like Bill Pearson, second from right, and of the
Brussels Fire Department, like Mark Pennington, second from left, were at the Old 86
Farmers’ Market on Saturday morning raising money for the families of fallen Listowel and
area firefighters Ken Rea and Ray Walter. Pennington and Pearson cooked while Mike
Alexander, right, and Jim Stephenson, left, looked on. The event was initially scheduled to take
place last month, but weather forced the event to be moved to Saturday. (Jim Brown photo)
Blyth’s annual blood donor clinic
is on thin ice according to organizer
John Elliott.
Last year’s showing wasn’t as
good as the first clinic in 2009, and
had so few participants that it didn’t
meet the quota set by Canadian
Blood Services (CBS) to continue
offering the clinic.
“[CBS] sets a quota of 75 to 80
units from a clinic, which might take
100 donors, because not everyone
can donate,” Elliott said, adding that
the 2010 clinic faced several
situations that made it not meet this
quota.
“We had the clinic on a Friday,
which wasn’t ideal, we think we
missed out on a lot of people
because of that,” he said. “It was
held in the arena, and it was a
hot day, so it became very hot
there.”
This year’s blood drive is set to be
held on Thursday, July 21 in the
auditorium at the Blyth Community
Centre.
“It will be on a Thursday, so we’re
hoping that more people will be
available,” he said. “We’re also
holding it in the auditorium, which
is air conditioned, so that should
also help.”
Another concern was that several
donors had been called by a
national calling system and asked
to donate in Goderich. Once
someone has donated blood, they
can’t do it again for nearly two
months, so those who had donated
in Goderich, where monthly clinics
are held according to Elliott,
couldn’t donate in Blyth due to the
timing.
The clinic, which Elliott
negotiated with CBS as a means of
showing it can be viable and should
remain an annual event, is sponsored
by the Blyth and Londesborough
Masonic Lodges as well as the Blyth
fire hall, part of the North Huron
Fire Department.
Elliott says the important thing to
do to ensure it is a success is to get
the word out and get people to
donate.
“Anybody, even if you can’t
donate, may eventually end up using
or receiving blood in an emergency,”
he said. “It’s important we get the
word out there.”
The guidelines for who can donate
are constantly changing, and some
people who have previously been
advised not to take advantage of the
opportunity to donate are now being
allowed.
Any questions about who can
donate should be directed to
CBS directly by dialing
1-888-2-DONATE (1-888-236-
6283).
Appointments can also be set up
through the CBS by phone to limit
the time spent waiting in line at the
clinc.
A similar clinic in Brussels
used to cause some concern
over targetting the same audience,
however the Brussels clinic has
now been moved to December.
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By Denny Scott
The Citizen