Melanie Melchin
Peer Recruiter
South Central Ontario
Melanie stands out among other peer recruiters for turning personal tragedy into something positive: saving lives in memory of her six-year-old son, Nolan, who passed away in early 2013 of a brain tumour. After seeing first-hand the need for blood through her son’s experience, Melanie not only became a donor herself, but a passionately committed advocate of the blood system.
In September 2013, one year to the day of Nolan’s first blood transfusion, Melanie organized her first “Donate for Nolan” blood drive. Fifty-six people came in to the clinic to donate blood, of which 33 were new or lapsed donors. But Melanie didn’t stop there: she signed up the group in the Partners for Life program, committing them to giving blood every nine weeks. In 2013, they collected 103 units of blood. This year, the group has made a pledge of 275 blood donations.
Earlier this year, Melanie was inspired by the story of a little girl in Mississauga in need of a stem cell transplant. In less than one week, Melanie helped Canadian Blood Services pull together a OneMatch Stem Cell and Marrow Network swabbing drive, and registered more than 30 people for the stem cell and marrow network in honour of the little girl as well as Nolan. Melanie plans to add a swabbing component to the next Donate for Nolan drive.
