Recognition programs

Honoring our lifeline heroes

At Canadian Blood Services, we are deeply grateful for the incredible dedication and generosity of everyone who contributes to Canada’s Lifeline. We recognize and celebrate the vital role that donors, volunteers and community members play in supporting lifesaving efforts across the country. Our recognition programs honour these extraordinary contributions in multiple ways, whether through personal milestones, community acknowledgments or national awards that spotlight those making a remarkable impact.

Through programs like our donor recognition program and our national award program, we aim to acknowledge and celebrate those who help save lives and inspire others to give.

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Donor recognition

One of the ways we express our gratitude to donors is through our national donor recognition program.

As a donor, when you reach a donation milestone, we make a point of acknowledging your contribution, whether with a pin, a card, a certificate or other items of appreciation.

On behalf of patients in your community and across Canada, our heartfelt thanks to you for your sincere generosity and commitment to help save lives. Blood donors are essential to Canada’s Lifeline. 

FAQs

What types of donations are recognized?

We recognize all types of contributions, including: 

  • Biological donations 
    • Whole blood, plasma and platelet donations  
    • Stem cell and cord blood donations  
  • Partner initiatives  
  • Volunteer efforts
  • Financial donations

How are biological donors recognized?

  • We track every (whole) blood, plasma and platelet donation you make regardless of whether they were collected by Canadian Blood Services.
  • Our program includes appreciation items such as special donor cards, lapel pins and certificates to thank you, our donors, after you have reached various donation milestones. These items are standard across Canada and ensure that all donors receive consistent recognition for their contribution to giving life.
  • Stem cell donors receive a certificate after they have made a donation.
  • The in-person recognition events held across Canada remain on hold as we conduct a thorough review of the national Donor Recognition program in its entirety. We continue to actively work on this with the intent to make meaningful improvements and re-envision the program to make it a more innovative and accessible recognition program. However, there is no estimated date as to when this review will be completed.

What are the recognition levels?

We track every (whole) blood, plasma and platelet donation you make regardless of whether they were collected by Canadian Blood Services. Review our table below to learn more about our recognition levels.

LevelPinCertificateCard
10  
25 
50
75 
100
125  
150
175  
200
250 
Every 50 donations after  
Every 100 donations after 

Dedicated plasma centre donors will not receive their milestone card but instead can access their digital card through the GiveBlood App.

How do donors receive their recognition items?

Lapel pin may be given to donors at the donor centres and donor cards and certificates are sent by posted mail.

Donor recognition pilot program

As donor expectations and modern technology evolve, Canadian Blood Services will be piloting a new program at selected locations across the country. The goal of the program is to test new ways to recognize donors' generous contributions. Learning from this pilot program will be essential to the continued development of our recognition program.

The donor recognition pilot program celebrates donor commitment to saving lives by allowing donors to earn points for attending appointments. As part of this pilot program, donors can redeem points for a variety of items in our online donor recognition catalogue. 

Learn more

Young woman looking at the camera, smiling

National award program

Every year, Canadian Blood Services recognizes and celebrates exceptional contributors to Canada’s Lifeline and the patients we serve.  

Our national award program honours and thanks people and organizations who are making significant contributions to the transfusion and transplantation system through an annual presentation of awards in the following categories: Lifetime Achievement Award, Living Organ Donor Award, Logan Boulet Award, National Partnership Award and the Schilly Award. All honourees’ stories remain on the national award program page, as a source of inspiration, education and appreciation for the impact they’ve made to patients across Canada. 

Our national awards celebrate the exceptional dedication, generosity and impact of individuals and partners who strengthen Canada’s Lifeline.
Dr. Graham Sher CEO, Canadian Blood Services

Have more questions?

Call us at 1 888 2 DONATE (1-888-236-6283) to learn more about our recognition programs.