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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Royal Columbian Hospital hosts special blood donor clinic
Medical staff rolls up their sleeves to give blood at RCH clinic
View media clip: The Record – January 16, 2010
New Westminster -- January 11, 2010 – Physicians, nurses and medical support staff at Royal Columbian Hospital (RCH) will be rolling up their sleeves to donate blood for a special in-hospital blood donor clinic, starting at 11 a.m. on Thursday, January 14.
It will be the first time in two decades that Canadian Blood Services has hosted a blood donor clinic at a hospital. The RCH blood donor clinic will run from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday, January 14 in RCH’s Robson Auditorium, located on the Main Floor of the Sherbrooke Building.
“As the second highest user of blood and blood products in the province and among the top ten highest users in Canada, RCH is honoured to do its part in giving back to Canada’s blood supply by hosting a blood donor clinic at the hospital,” says Dr. Doug Morrison, Medical Director, Fraser Health Transfusion Medicine.
“Traumatic injuries are one of the leading causes of death and disability for British Columbians,” says RCH Trauma Surgeon Dr. Rardi van Heest. “As RCH is the second busiest trauma hospital in BC, we see and treat many of these injuries, and in order to be successful and save lives, we rely on donated blood products.”
Canadian Blood Services needs to collect 9,950 units of blood in January across B.C. in order to keep hospitals like RCH fully functioning.
“Every minute of every day, someone in Canada needs blood,” says Ed Yee, Director of Donor & Clinic Services for the B.C. & Yukon Region. “It’s fantastic to see support for blood donation from one of the organizations that uses it most.”
RCH Foundation Vice-president Laurie Tetarenko agrees: “RCH is the trauma centre for 1.5 million people from Burnaby to Boston Bar, and this clinic is a great opportunity for the community to lend its support to RCH and other hospitals across Canada by donating blood alongside RCH physicians, nurses, technologists, and administrative and RCH Foundation staff.”
To book an appointment to give blood, please call 1-888-2-DONATE (1-888-236-6283). For information on donor eligibility, visit www.blood.ca/eligibility.
Physician interviews available upon request.
About Canadian Blood Services
Canadian Blood Services is a national, not-for-profit charitable organization that manages the supply of blood and blood products in all provinces and territories outside of Quebec. Canadian Blood Services also oversees the OneMatch Stem Cell and Marrow Network, and provides national leadership for organ and tissue donation and transplantation. Canadian Blood Services operates 40 permanent collection sites and more than 20,000 donor clinics annually. The provincial and territorial Ministries of Health provide operational funding to Canadian Blood Services. The federal government, through Health Canada, is responsible for regulating the blood system. For more information, please visit our Web site at www.blood.ca.
About Royal Columbian Hospital (RCH)
RCH is one of 12 hospitals under the umbrella of the Fraser Health Authority. It is a regional referral hospital for trauma, critical care, cardiac, maternity, newborn intensive care and neurosciences for 1.5 million people from Burnaby to Boston Bar. RCH is also a UBC teaching hospital with a newly expanded Clinical Academic Campus and a community hospital serving New Westminster residents.
About Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation
Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation is an independent charitable organization that raises millions of dollars annually to help fund priority equipment needs, facility enhancements, research and education at RCH. For more information about Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation, please visit rchfoundation.com
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