Sudbury's Claire Drake passed away at the age of 80 in 2014 after living with a rare blood cancer for 12 years.
But she wouldn't have lived so long if it hadn't been for the more than 200 units of blood she received during the course of her cancer treatments.
Local musician Clayton Drake is one of her grandchildren, and he honours his grandmother's memory by regularly donating blood to Canadian Blood Services.
The 33-year-old has donated more than 30 units over the years. He encourages others to also consider blood donation.
“The actual donation only takes about 15 minutes,” said Clayton, a member of the local band The Almighty Rhombus and an assistant booker at The Townehouse Tavern.
“It doesn't take that much time out of your day. If you're someone who doesn't have a lot of time to volunteer, but you're still someone who wants to give back to society, it's probably the best use of your time.”
Many people say they don't want to donate blood because they dislike needles, but Clayton said the procedure is pretty much painless.
This week, Sudbury.com is participating in Canadian Blood Services' Adopt-a-Clinic program, encouraging Sudburians to do what Clayton already does — donating blood.
A group of Sudbury.com employees will be heading to the Sudbury clinic tomorrow to make a donation.
Canadian Blood Services territory manager Joanne Drake — who happens to be Clayton Drake's mom — said blood donations are especially needed right now, as the summertime is pretty slow.
“Our weekly target for the Sudbury blood donor clinic is 248 units of blood,” she said in an interview last week. “We're falling short of this target week after week. So for example, next week we still have 190 openings to fill.”
Joanne said the Adopt-a-Clinic program is extremely helpful in ensuring Canadian Blood Services meets its donation quotas. All kinds of groups participate in the program, from schools to private businesses.
If you're wondering whether or not you're eligible to donate blood, you can take this online eligibility quiz.
Canadian Blood Services is located at 944 Barrydowne Rd. Its hours are Monday and Wednesday from 2-8 p.m., Tuesday from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Visit Canadian Blood Services' website or phone 1-888-236-6283 for more information.
