This summer, some 83,000 individuals made a gift of life

Montréal, Monday, September 8, 2003 – Some 83,000 individuals accepted Héma-Québec's invitation, and that of its community partners, to give blood. During this summer campaign, which took place from June 2 until September 7, 2003, Héma-Québec was on the way and met vacationers at 500 blood drives organized with the help of hundreds of volunteers.

" Summer is a crucial period for maintaining our collective blood reserve. On behalf of all blood recipients, Héma-Québec wishes to thank all the individuals who took the time during their vacation to give blood", stated Dr. Francine Décary, Executive Director of Héma-Québec. She reminds us that donating blood is an act of generosity which can help save up to four lives.

It is important to remember that Héma-Québec now has a test that detects the presence of the West Nile virus (WNV) in donor blood. For those wishing to have more information about the effect of the WNV on blood, a telephone hotline is available from Monday to Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. and, on Saturday and Sunday, between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Just dial 1-877-VNO-HÉMA (1-877-866-4362).

Each year, Héma-Québec welcomes over 300,000 donors at its 2,500 blood drives. Aside from the contribution of its 1,200 employees, the official Québec blood product provider can count on the generous collaboration of over 25,000 volunteers.

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