Saving lives, on and off the job

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This article was published 25/06/2024 (705 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Art Stannard is reclined in a chair, trying to relax, as a tube snakes from his arm.

The acting chief of the Winnipeg Police Service, who has been with the service since 1978, used to donate blood a long time ago, but it got away from him.

“I just started making excuses not to give anymore… or just being complacent and just thought other people would be doing it so I wouldn’t have to,” said Stannard as a nurse checked the bandage covering the needle in his arm. “You kind of shy away from it and then you just kind of forget about it.”

Stannard decided to give again because of Sirens for Life, a national campaign by Canadian Blood Services to get first responders involved in life-saving activities outside of work and to raise awareness about donating blood and blood products such as plasma and platelets.

On Tuesday, Stannard and other first responders from Winnipeg police and the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service gathered at Canadian Blood Services on William Avenue to kick off the organization’s annual campaign.

Stannard said one of the biggest ways to save a life is by giving blood and it makes him happy to know he’s giving to someone in need.

One of those people was city paramedic Jamie McClintock.

In 2009, when she was 21, she was tubing on the water at Steep Rock, where her family had a cabin.

She suddenly felt weak and got into the boat when she felt a sharp pain in her head, like she’d been “struck by lightning.” McClintock fell unconscious and CT scans and blood work at Health Sciences Centre revealed she had three brain bleeds, a hemorrhagic stroke, and two different types of leukemia.

The combination of APL and ALM leukemia was so rare at the time that she was only one of 500 documented cases worldwide. McClintock was put into a medically induced coma for 38 days, where she had constant chemotherapy treatments and daily blood transfusions. She needed roughly 75 units of blood to recover.

September marks 15 years of remission for McClintock.

“I would not be standing here doing this speech today had it not been for the selfless blood donations from complete strangers” said McClintock during the beginning announcements of Sirens for Life’s 18th year.

Fewer people donate in summer. Sirens for Life happens at a critical time of year and helps fill 4,000 appointments during the warmer months, said Canadian Blood Services community development manager Brett Lawrence.

“People don’t realize how important blood donation is until they have first-hand account,” Lawrence said. “It’s either they themselves have received blood donations or they know someone who’s needed a transfusion before, or in this case, many of the staff here have probably (been) in a situation where someone needs blood.”

Cpl. Julie Courchaine said she’s seen many major traffic accidents over the years, which made her want to donate blood.

The RCMP media relations officer donates “sporadically” and used to do it a few times a year. McClintock’s story made her start thinking more seriously about donating.

“We go to so many collisions because we’re out in the rural areas on the highways and… sometimes you don’t think about the after-care,” Courchaine said. “It’s something that I think all first responders deal with and so to have something like this, it just makes us all want to come out.”

It’s also not Erin Madden’s first time sitting in the chair. This is her seventh donation, since she started through Sirens for Life when she lived in Calgary.

The public information officer with the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service sometimes attends with a group of friends and makes and evening out of donating.

Because Madden isn’t a licensed paramedic or firefighter, she said this is a chance for her to contribute to the life-saving work her colleagues do every day. She also hopes to serve as an example for her eight- and 10-year-old children.

“First responders are held to a high standard and we want to encourage others to do this, too,” Madden said, while waiting for her blood to be drawn. “There’s just people from all walks of life that are coming here every day. We kind of just try and do our part during these months but… our members donate year-round too.”

Madden said she’s kind of competitive, even while in the chair, and wants her bag to fill the fastest. Her record is five minutes.

“We’ll see how fast I bleed today,” she said with a laugh.

The friendly competition between firefighters, paramedics and police officers is a national initiative that encourages them to donate blood during July and August. The WFPS was crowned last year’s winner and hopes to take the title again.

Now they can add their name to the stem cell registry if they’re eligible to help their team win.

People between 17 and 35 can add their name to the registry as long as they are in good general health, free from infectious diseases and willing to donate to anyone, anywhere.

There are currently 1,000 Canadians waiting for life-saving stem cell transplants to cure more than 80 diseases and disorders, including cancer, bone marrow deficiency and sickle cell disease.

jura.mcilraith@freepress.mb.ca