Vanessa Suntjens is used to rolling up her sleeves to help others.
The 40-year-old Innisfail resident estimates that in 24 years of donating blood, it is something she has done it close to 40 times. Suntjens became a donor while still in high school after attending a clinic organized by a friend. After discovering her blood type, O negative, made her a “universal donor” Suntjens made a habit of donating. According to Canadian Blood Services, O negative blood can be used with patients of any blood type and is frequently used in emergency situations where doctors don’t have the luxury to check a patient’s blood type.
“I go because I know what a lifesaving thing it is,” Suntjens said. “I know how important it is for my blood to be taken and used – that’s what keeps me going.”
That and the competition she has going with her husband, Warren.
This week is National Blood Donor Week and the theme, “Rallying Together to Save Lives,” speaks to the need to change the public’s mindset from “me” to “we” when it comes to giving blood, Kaelyn Smith, the community development coordinator with Canadian Blood Services in Red Deer, said.
“We really want to spread the message that it takes more than one person to save a life,” Smith said. “The more people that we get to donate, the more people we can help. We’d like to give communities the opportunity to come together and help out within their own neighbourhoods.”
Suntjens’ hope is that more people will join her in giving. She said the volunteers who run the clinic work to make the process as painless as possible.
“They really put you at ease,” she said. “They make the process really, really easy.”
Smith said 43 per cent of first-time donors tend to go with a friend.
“They find that taking somebody with them really helps relax them during the process,” Smith explained.
Mobile blood donor clinics are held every two months in Innisfail. The next clinic is scheduled on July 20 at the Legion Hall from 4:30 to 8 p.m. Smith said this year’s local target is 492 units of blood and a total of 239 donations have been collected so far this year. The hope is to collect 253 donations in this year’s final clinics, which are on July 20, Sept. 21 and Nov. 16.
For more information or to book an appointment to donate, visit www.blood.ca or call 1-888-236-6283.
