Blood donations at Canadian Blood Services in Sudbury have already seen an increase as day one of a blood donor clinic in honour of Richard Griffin got underway on Aug. 14.
The sudden passing of 105.3 Kiss FM morning show host Rich Griffin two years ago shocked the Nickel City, but in Griffin's passing, a new organization to encourage organ donation, 1Saves8, was born, started by Nancy Griffin, Rich's wife.
Nancy was at Canadian Blood Services on Barrydowne Road on Aug. 14 and was pleased to hear that the clinic is already seeing a spike in the number of donors coming through its doors.
"Joanne Drake with Canadian Blood Services here in Sudbury told me that it's already been busier than normal," said Griffin. "It's great to see that, especially at this time of year. It's summer and people are away on vacation and things like that, but just because it's summer, the need for blood donations doesn't go down."
Richard Griffin was an organ donor himself, and in addition to the five-day blood donor clinic, the week is dedicated to promoting Sudburians to sign up to be organ donors.
"The blood donor clinic is a nice complimentary piece to raising money and awareness for people who need organ transplants," said Griffin. "When you're on the list to be the recipient of an organ transplant, you have to travel to Toronto and pay for somewhere to stay, and it can get very expensive, so the hope is to raise some money to help those people out."
Canadian Blood Services says during organ transplantation, the patient will require at least one blood transfusion during the procedure. By donating blood, you are also contributing to the survival of organ recipients.
Sudburians can help by signing up to be an organ donor at BeADonor.ca or by donating blood. Not sure if you're already registered to be an organ donor? Check the back of your Ontario health card and look for the word 'donor.'
Even if you are a donor already, Griffin says that there's an important step that must be taken in the process that some may not be aware of.
"If you're registered to be an organ donor, you should discuss that with your family and let them know this is what you want," said Griffin. "If they're not aware and something happens, they have the authority to say that they don't want your organs to be donated."
Donation clinic times are Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 3-7 p.m., and Thursday and Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
"It's only an hour of your time, and I know Rich would really love this," said Griffin. "As a family you never forget your loved ones, but to see the support from the community, it shows that they haven't forgotten about Rich either, and I sincerely want to thank everyone for that. It means a lot to us."
The clinic is located at 944 Barrydowne Rd.
