Héma-Québec celebrates its fifth anniversary

Montréal, September 29, 2003 - Héma-Québec, supplier of blood components and substitutes and human tissues, is celebrating the fifth anniversary of its founding. On September 28, 1998, Héma-Québec started its activities, in keeping with a mandate from the Québec Minister of Health and Social Services.

Over the past five years, Héma-Québec has welcomed 1.4 million donors to the 9,000 blood drives organized in cooperation with community partners throughout Québec. Last year alone, Héma-Québec delivered more than 400,000 blood products to hospitals to meet the needs of patients. One blood donation can save up to four lives.

It should be noted that, according to a survey conducted a few months ago on behalf of Héma-Québec by Baromètre, recherche marketing et sondages d’opinion, 90% of Quebeckers view the organization positively. A vast majority of the people who know Héma-Québec (86%) agree that since the organization was founded, giving blood is safer and there is less risk of shortages (78%).

Today, the organization employs some 1,300 people at two facilities, one in Montréal and the other in Québec City. In September 2002, the corporation inaugurated its new facility in Ville St. Laurent and in spring 2004 Héma-Québec will move its Québec City facilities to a new building on the Université Laval campus. Héma-Québec also relies on the very active involvement of 25,000 volunteers who work at the blood drives and in the donor centres, day in and day out.

Héma-Québec's mission is to efficiently provide adequate quantities of safe, top-quality blood components, blood substitutes and human tissues to meet the needs of all Quebeckers; provide and develop expertise and services, along with specialized and innovative products in the fields of transfusion medicine and human tissue transplantation.