My wife had never had a transfusion in her life until the summer of 2022. Now she's had a dozen in four months. She's been losing a battle with cancer since before we were married seven years ago. We would have had the wedding in 2014 but her oncologist convinced us to delay our ceremony by one year. This year they switched her chemo to a treatment that has dropped her hemoglobin down to the 50's and 60's. Thank goodness there are donors who provide the cells for patients like Laura. We fell in love in our church choir. Ah.
So far I have donated 306 times! Not all at once mind you. By the way, thank you for the nice framed certificate of appreciation upon 300. I enjoyed the decades I spent going in to the platelet donor clinic every second week. It took almost three hours each time, including travel. We always got to see a movie. (Spoiler alert: The Titanic sinks.)
My story is really about my wonderful boss, the late Max Keeping, longtime chief anchor of the CTV Ottawa and CJOH newscasts. Before we retired, he allowed me to commit to the time it took for all those donations. Twice, I returned for a second time within a week, to give an additional platelet donation! I hope the Canadian Blood Services has found a way to thank these partners who allow their employees to voluntarily donate.
We don't know who receives our blood but I couldn't help but think about the irony of donating on a Friday and then accompanying my wife the next day so she could get two bags of plasma. We may never know when someone we love might need blood products. However, donating can be a healthy habit to develop. This is something a person can do to make life better for others.
Plus you get to see a colour talking movie!
