BY TONY MCLELLAN
On March 18, students and staff from all corners of Conestoga College could be found with a needle in their arm, and a smile, if a nervous one, on their face.
Why would someone take pleasure from this?
On this particular occasion, Condors from all walks of life came to enthusiastically donate their blood in order to save those who may need it.
The event was organized by the Student Life department at Conestoga, in collaboration with Canadian Blood Services. Spawning the course of two days, the event was held in a closed-off section of the gymnasium within the recreation centre. On both days, the clinic was open for five hours, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
With the extensive winter that 2014 brought, the need for blood increased.
“In the winter, there are often more car accidents because of the slick roads,” said Bonnie Isaac, one of the clinic supervisors overseeing the blood donor process. “Because of this, hospitals tend to need a bit more blood than usual and we tend to ramp up what we need in terms of donations.”
Isaac said during the winter season, especially around the holidays, regular donors tend to have more stress added to their lives, and may forget or cancel scheduled appointments.
“Sometimes we have to put a blood signal out to let people know that we’re in need of donations, especially due to the number of car accidents.”
This year, blood donation goals were set at 72 units for the Conestoga clinic. Instead of just reaching this goal, Conestoga went above and beyond, topping the charts with over 80 units of blood. This achievement towered over last year’s total of 54 units.
Those 80 units will help to save the lives of over 240 injured individuals in our community.
If you missed the clinic and still wish to donate, you can find a clinic near you by visiting www.blood.ca or by calling 1-888-2DONATE.
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