Kryssandra Sammut

Kryssandra Sammut, an emergency room nurse at Brampton Civic Hospital, recognizes the need for blood and blood products. So too does her partner, Corey Lapalme, an advanced care paramedic. This recognition inspires both to donate blood; Kryssandra has also donated platelets. They also know that when a baby is born, blood left in the umbilical cord and placenta is rich with potentially lifesaving stem cells. So when Kryssandra became pregnant with their first child, she signed up to donate their baby’s umbilical cord blood to Canadian Blood Services’ Cord Blood Bank.

“It is important to us that we continue to support not only the patients we serve, but also our community and the people in them,” says Kryssandra.

Daughter Meridian was born July 28, 2020, and her cord blood donation was successful.

“Without people donating, whether it's cord blood, platelets, plasma or blood, we could not do the wonderful things we do in the hospital to save lives,” says Kryssandra.