Emergency service workers, mayor donate blood as part of Sirens for Life campaign

Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek took part in the kick-off Sirens for Life event on Tuesday at Canadian Blood Services in Eau Claire Market and donated blood for the first time.

To kick off the new year, emergency service workers in Alberta are rolling up their sleeves to give blood as part of the Sirens for Life campaign.

It’s a friendly competition between frontline workers in Calgary, Edmonton and Red Deer to see which city can recruit the most donors for Canadian Blood Services in January.

This year’s goal is to collect 5,317 blood and plasma donations and bring in 498 new donors.

“The need for blood is constant and we’re really counting on more people to come out and get inspired by the work that our first responders are doing,” said Lisa Castro, territory manager, Canadian Blood Services.

“It’s not just throughout the month of January that we need support – it’s year-round.”

These donations make a huge difference for people like Azad Bilal.

“About 10 years ago, I was walking near my house and I was struck by an SUV and I had to get over 100 units of blood initially, and I’ve had about 22, 23 surgeries ever since,” he said.

Bilal said he never knew the value of blood donations until he needed them.

“You never know, when you’re donating blood, you could be helping someone’s life out. For example, me, so I think it’s an incredible thing a human being can do,” he said.

Mayor Jyoti Gondek took part in the kick-off event on Tuesday at Canadian Blood Services in Eau Claire Market and donated blood for the first time.

She calls Bilal’s story inspiring.

“When I hear of stories like this, I realize how important it is to donate if you can and so, yeah, I absolutely think this is one of those ways that, as Calgarians, we can help out other people, because you never know when they’re going to need something that you can provide,” she told reporters.

Carol Henke, public information officer with the Calgary Fire Department, said frontline workers see the need for blood each day.

“When we respond to emergencies, we know first-hand the need and the trauma that can happen – motor vehicle collisions, all sorts of different scenarios,” she said.

“(Donating blood is) a non-emergency way to still support and assist and help people in need. It might not be people we’ve interacted with directly, but everyone who knows someone who has suffered some sort of trauma, who needs our hospital care and might need blood or plasma.”

The campaign runs all of January.

People can get involved and find out the requirements to donate by visiting the Canadian Blood Services website.