This summer, 75,500 individuals brough good habits to life

Montréal, September 7, 2005 – From June 6 to September 4 of this year, 75,500 individuals gave blood as part of the “This summer, bring good habits to life. Give blood. Give life.” campaign. Indeed, Héma-Québec welcomed these thousands of donors at some 600 blood drives organized with the help of thousands of volunteers, thus enabling it to maintain Québec’s collective blood supply.

“Summer is always a crucial period in terms of blood product supplies. On behalf of patients, Héma-Québec sincerely thanks all those donors who brought good habits to life. We would like to encourage them to maintain such good habits throughout the year,” stated Dr. Francine Décary, Chief Executive Officer of Héma-Québec. She also noted that Québec’s blood product supplier must collect a minimum of 1,000 donations per day to meet the public’s needs.

Donors are invited to continue to give blood generously at one of the 50 blood drives held weekly in many areas of Québec. It is also possible to donate blood at one of the GLOBULE blood donor centres, which are located at Place Versailles and at 4045 Côte-Vertu Blvd. in Montréal, and at Place Laurier in Québec City. Remember that the largest single-site blood drive in Québec—and, for that matter, in North America—will be held on September 9 at the Centre sportif Bois-de-Boulogne in Laval. Fully 1,200 donors are expected.

Each blood donation is vital because it can help save up to four lives. It is estimated that, every 80 seconds, someone in Québec needs blood. All healthy individuals who are at least 18 years old and meet Héma?]Québec’s eligibility criteria can donate blood every 56 days, that is, a total of six times per year. For more information about donating blood, call 1 800 343-SANG (7264) or visit Héma-Québec’s Web site at www.hema-quebec.qc.ca.

Created in September 1998, Héma-Québec’s mission is to efficiently provide adequate quantities of safe, optimal blood components, substitutes, human tissues and cord blood to meet the needs of all Quebeckers; and to provide and develop expertise and services, along with specialized and innovative products, in the fields of transfusion medicine and human tissue transplantation.

Give blood. Give life.

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