Héma-Québec’s holiday campaign

Quebecers have been generous once more!

Montréal, January 10, 2007 – During Héma-Québec's holiday campaign that took place from December 4, 2006 to January 7, 2007 under the theme “Share a unique gift. Give blood. Give life.” some 150 blood drives were organized with hundreds of volunteers from various community partners, throughout Québec. Donors turned out in force, enabling Héma-Québec to maintain the blood reserve at very high levels. Québec’s blood supplier announces that more than 26,000 people have given the gift of life.

“On behalf of blood product recipients, Héma-Québec thanks everyone who gave the unique and priceless gift that health is by sharing their time and their blood,” said Dr. Francine Décary, Chief Executive Officer of Héma-Québec. “Now that our holiday campaign has come to an end, we realize how important the solidarity of blood donors, the participation of volunteers and partner organizations as well as support from the media have been,” she added.

A blood donation can help save up to four lives. Donors can either attend mobile blood drives or visit one of the GLOBULE Blood Donor Centres, at Place Versailles and at 4045 Côte-Vertu Boulevard in Montréal, and at Place Laurier in Québec. To receive more information on blood drives locations and schedules, donors can dial 1-800-343-7264 or visit Héma-Québec’s Web site at www.hema-quebec.qc.ca.

There is no longer an upper age limit for giving blood in Québec. Any healthy person aged 18 years and older who meets Héma-Québec's eligibility criteria can give blood every 56 days, namely six times per year.

Created in 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 Quebecers; provide and develop expertise along with specialized and innovative services and products in the fields of transfusion medicine and human tissue transplantation.

Héma-Québec is 1,300 employees, some 3,000 days of blood drives and more than 300,000 blood donors each year, 16,000 volunteer partners and 400,000 blood products delivered each year to Québec hospitals to meet patients' needs.

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