While the digs may be new, the drive to collect as many blood donations as possible remains the same.
Canadian Blood Services celebrated its grand opening at its new 944 Barrydowne Road location on Tuesday. Ian Mumford, chief supply chain officer, Canadian Blood Services, said the location was chosen for many reasons.
“It's a brand new facility with all the modern amenities we would want for our donors and our volunteers,” said Mumford. “We particularly like this location because it's more central than our previous location, there's a lot more parking, and it's a lot more visible to the public with the volume of traffic on Barrydowne.
“It also provides a much better working environment for our employees. It's quite a change from our previous location on Cedar Street, where parking was always a bit of a challenge.”
Murielle Boucher has been a recipient of blood transfusions her entire life. She was born with a rare blood disorder, pyruvate kinase deficiency, which affects the survival of red blood cells and causes deformation. Today, she needs blood transfusions twice a month.
“It's because of blood donors that I'm here today,” she said.
She now volunteers at Canadian Blood Service, serving cookies and juice to donors, as well as a bit of recruitment.
“Apparently, Sudbury is happy, happy, happy, but I want to make Sudbury giving, giving, giving.”
And, like Muriel's continued need for blood products, there are thousands of Canadians in the same situation, said Mumford.
“The need for blood never ends, and there are thousands of Canadians every year who need blood products to keep them alive,” Mumford said. “Quite literally, it's the difference between life and death. Donating, literally, comes from the heart, and it's a relatively easy process. Yes, it involves a needle, but we have very skilled people to handle that. We encourage everyone in this community to be a blood donor.”
While the official opening was held May 5, the clinic has been operating in its new Barrydowne location for about a month already.
“I've been told it's been very busy, which reinforces why this location is so important for us.”
Canadian Blood Service has set a target of 22,000 donations for Sudbury and the surrounding areas, which includes mobile clinics to smaller communities. In Sudbury alone, Canadian Blood Services hopes to collect 7,200 units.
“That's a big goal, but our team here is very confident we can achieve it – we've had a very good track record here in Sudbury, and folks from Northern Ontario are very big supporters of the blood program. We see that year after year.
