It takes about an hour out of his day each time Gordon Saunders makes a blood donation.
He has made 100 donations over the years and considers it time well spent.
“Who can’t give up an hour up to five times a year just to save somebody’s life? Each blood donation can save up to three people at a time, so you could have helped to save up to 15 people in a year,” Saunders said.
The Stevensville man said healthy donors can give their blood every 56 days, if they are men, and every 84 days for women, and every drop of blood is important. He said he started giving blood because he felt a sense of duty.
According to the Canadian Blood Services, O-negative blood donors like Saunders are essential to saving patients’ lives (especially in a trauma situation) when their blood type is unknown. O-negative is a universal blood type, meaning people with O-negative blood can give blood to recipients of any blood type — but they can only receive blood from O-negative donors.
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