Every three months, Michelle Buchanan finishes work at New Afton Mine and heads to a Canadian Blood Services donation centre in Kamloops, British Columbia to donate blood.
“It has become a routine, I don’t even think about it now,” said Michelle. “I have an appointment every twelve weeks and so I donate, like clockwork.”
Since May 2010, Michelle has donated blood fifty-nine times. Later this month, she’ll complete her sixtieth donation during National Blood Donor Week, happening June 9-14. This milestone will also mark fifteen years of donating—something she never would have predicted.
“A coworker at a previous job donated blood and that was the first time it occurred to me that I could do it,” Michelle said. “It felt like a unique way to give back that would make a really important impact.”
According to Canadian Blood Services, half of Canadians will need or know someone who will need blood at some point in their lives. However, only 4% of Canadians donate blood.
Over the years, Michelle’s purpose for donating became more personal. After members of her family required blood transfusions, she found renewed motivation to keep giving.
“Seeing people I know and love rely on donations got me thinking—what would happen if there was no blood available? How would people survive emergency surgeries, or illnesses?” she added.
That motivation helped Michelle convince her own mother to start donating. She hopes that people who have never donated will consider it and recognize the positive impact it could have.
“The process is so easy these days, last time I donated I was in and out within a half hour,” said Michelle. “It feels really good to have stuck with it for so long, it’s a pretty cool commitment and I have no plans of stopping.”
To learn more about Canadian Blood Services, or to find a donation center in your community, visit www.blood.ca.
The post A Lifesaving Routine: Celebrating 15 Years of Donating Blood first appeared on New Afton Mine.