Héma-Québec reminds the public about the importance of the contribution of the Black communities to Québec’s blood supply

With the theme Reclaim Our History, Reclaim Our Values: 20 years of sharing, friendship, belonging and memories, this 20th edition will reinforce the message that Héma-Québec wants to transmit to the Black communities: claim the collective blood reserve and contribute to it by becoming a donor or a blood donation volunteer.

 

“Héma-Québec cannot fulfill its mission to provide optimum blood products to all Quebecers without the contribution of the Black communities, which are part of the equation needed to maintain a blood reserve that represents the population of Québec,” said Dr. Francine Décary, President and Chief Executive Officer of Héma-Québec, who also pointed out that the chances of ensuring optimal compatibility between the donor’s blood and that of the recipient are better when they both come from the same community.

 

Since 2009, Héma-Québec has been making efforts to recruit more donors from the Black communities. An awareness raising campaign targeted ambassadors who were likely to encourage members of the Black communities and organize blood drives focussed on their communities. Over the last year, more than 1000 new donors from the Black communities responded to Héma-Québec’s appeal. Despite these encouraging results, there is still work to be done to ensure that the reserve reflects the cultural face of Québec.

 

As part of the activities highlighting Black History Month, a blood drive will be held on February 19th at La Perle Retrouvée, located at 7655 20th Avenue in Montreal’s Saint-Michel district. We hope to receive at least 40 donors, who are invited to drop in from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Since more than 52 % of the population will need blood products at some point during their lives, Héma-Québec invites all Quebecers from all cultural communities to contribute to the collective blood reserve by giving blood.

 

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

 

 

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