When Corporal Laura Matern joined the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) in 1986, donating blood quickly became just another regular part of her military life.
“I was 17 when I joined the military and right away, I saw a lot of my colleagues from the armory talking about donating blood regularly or going as a group to the donor centre downtown,” she says.
“I tagged along one day with a friend to make my first blood donation — and I’ve made over 50 more since then.”
For many years, while living and working in Calgary, Alta., Cpl. Matern diligently made appointments to donate blood as often as she could.
Sometimes, she would head down to her local donor centre at lunch. Other times, she’d go after work with her CAF colleagues. Then, as her family began to grow, Cpl. Matern and her husband would also make plans to donate together, often with their three young daughters in tow.
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