News

The tainted-blood tragedy is the worst public health disaster in Canadian history. Some 2,000 hemophiliacs and transfusion recipients died of HIV-AIDS and at least 20,000 more recipients of blood and blood products will die as the result of blood-borne infection with hepatitis C.

The Commission of Inquiry on the Blood System in Canada, headed by Mr. Justice Horace Krever, dissected the failures at the root of the tragedy in meticulous detail. The inquiry also made a series of recommendations to create a safer, more efficient system, one that became Canadian Blood Services.

That the media - who thrive on bad news - have stopped writing about blood is a testament to the success of CBS. But more impressive still is that the new organization has, in the wake of the horrors of tainted blood, managed to regain the public's trust.

Canadian Blood Services collects about 850,000 units of blood annually at 40 permanent sites and 19,000 blood-donor clinics that take place in office buildings, schools, hospitals and Royal Canadian Legion halls around the country.

While CBS is a $900-billion-a-year non-profit organization with almost 5,000 employees, the heart and soul of the system is an army of voluntary donors and clinic volunteers.

There are hundreds of thousands of blood donors, ranging from the occasional givers to the fanatically dedicated, and tens of thousands of volunteers who soothe the fears of the needle-phobic, serve the post-donation cookies and juice, drive the mobile-clinic buses and perform countless other tasks.

Without them, there would be no Gift of Life. Sadly, their selfless contributions have been largely obscured by the enormity of the tainted-blood tragedy. Forgotten too is that the tainted-blood scandal was a betrayal not only of recipients, but of donors.

In a scathing report rife with condemnations for a litany of failures, Judge Krever made a point to note that only two groups in the blood system were beyond reproach: donors and volunteers.

"All members of Canadian society, and not merely the direct beneficiaries of their generosity, owe the donors a debt that can never be repaid. They are truly lifesavers."

Judge Krever wrote also of the essential role and dedication of front-line workers and clinic volunteers who daily "brought to reality the generous intentions and expectations of the blood donors."

Earlier this week in Ottawa, Canadian Blood Services staged a ceremony to honour those who are truly the lifeblood of the organization, the donors and volunteers. There were also some recipients present to offer heartfelt thanks.

The gathering of donors and recipients - a relationship that is usually totally anonymous - was a nicely symbolic reminder of their bond.

The stories of donors were as touching and inspirational as those of recipients. Just a few examples:

Nicholas Brien, 17, of Saint John has a standing appointment to donate platelets every second Saturday at 7:30 a.m. He does so in honour of his sister Catherine, who died of leukemia;

Len Graat of London, Ont., lost his leg in an industrial accident in 2004 and needed more than 200 units of blood. Last year, he made his first donation, a grateful recipient giving back;

Evelyn Cowan of Chesterville, Ont. has been a blood clinic volunteer for an astounding 65 years, becoming a fixture in the post-donation hospitality area;

David Jardine of Ottawa began donating blood as a poor 19-year-old university student, drawn by the prospect of free cookies. Since then, he has made more than 400 donations of platelets and 100 donations of whole blood;

Derryl Garrett of CFB Gagetown has made a mere 25 blood donations, but late last year, when he came up as a match for a cancer patient who required platelets, he drove without hesitation more than an hour to a clinic to donate. He did so many times, including on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve.

The last speaker of the evening was a recipient. More specifically, Karen Chrest of Brandon, Man. is the mother of two recipients, her twin boys. Brett and Dylan were born in January, 1998, making them exactly the same age as Canadian Blood Services.

The boys, like the blood agency, were born in catastrophic circumstances. Ms. Chrest went into labour much too early, and her babies were 12 weeks premature.

Babies that tiny - less than 2.5 pounds each - need a lot of medical care. But most essential of all their needs is blood. The boys received a transfusion of about a tablespoon each.

"When you donate, you don't see the difference you make," Ms. Chrest told the assembled donors. "But an ounce-and-a-half of blood made a world of difference.

"Brett and Dylan are with us today because of people like you," Ms. Chrest said, with the two 10-year-olds by her side. "You are their lifeblood."