A University of Windsor student is encouraging young people to give the gift of life.
A blood drive took place Tuesday at the U of W CAW Student Centre, in cooperation with Canadian Blood Services and its NextGen Lifeline youth recruitment program, which educates young people on the importance and benefits of donating blood.
It's a personal crusade for Kelsey Bois, who began helping with blood drives in high school and is now a frequent volunteer with the U of W Blood Club. Bois told BlackburnNewsWindsor.com that it began when her younger sister Kylee became ill with a liver disorder.
"While she was waiting for a transplant, we were up in Toronto Sick Kids, and she needed multiple transfusions, multiple blood products from plasma to full blood transfusions," said Bois.
Bois said if it wasn't for the help her sister received in Toronto, Kylee would not have lived to see another Christmas. Sadly, despite those efforts, Kylee succumbed to liver failure in 2014.
The Canadian Blood Services said only four per cent of eligible donors actually donate, and it must recruit at least 100,000 new donors each year to keep up with patient needs. Bois has made it her mission to ensure as many young people are donating blood. Students can begin donating at 17 years old.
"They're young, they're healthy and they're not on a lot of medications, so they don't have to worry about that," said Bois. "They may not be travelling. It's the perfect time to get donors in to donate, and if we don't attack them then, when they get older it becomes a second thought."
The blood drive at the CAW Student Centre, the last of the 2019 winter semester, is on until 3:30 p.m. Tuesday. An additional donor event is set for 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Canadian Blood Services donor centre on Grand Marais Road East.
