A Calgary blood donor will be heading to Ottawa this weekend to help mark Canadian Blood Services' 10th anniversary.
Ian Harrop began donating his blood in the 70's and have made 232 donations in total.
Harrop says he donates not only because it's the right thing to do but also because his father did. "He kept on donating until his age and health wouldn't allow him to donate any more," says Harrop.
While in Ottawa, Harrop will receive an award from Canadian Blood Services for the volunteer work he's done. "A year ago this past June, I organized a sky-diving demo to help raise awareness on the need for blood and that was done in conjunction with World Blood Donor Day," says Harrop.
The agency says people like Harrop are an asset because there's always a need for donors. "Across Canada this year, we need to collect 900,000 whole blood donations and to collect that we expect we need to recruit 90,000 new blood donors," says Stephen Wright from Canadian Blood Services.
To donate blood you can set up an appointment by calling 1-888-2-DONATE.
