TORONTO – Brenna Singer had always been too nervous to give blood. Until last Wednesday.
Nineteen people came to donate blood at the Hillel/Canadian Friends of Rambam Health Care Campus blood
drive last Wednesday.
Josh Zelikovitz, Lyla Abells, Brenna Singer.
“I wanted to give to help people,” said Singer at the Hillel
and Canadian Friends of Rambam (CFRAM) Health Care
Campus blood drive last week. “I was nervous, I don’t know,
of the unknown. [But] I thought it was a good program and I
thought, ‘This is my chance to do it.’”
Singer, a Queen’s University student going into her fourth
year, was one of about 19 people to donate blood at the Canadian
Blood Services Clinic, a number that impressed Sara
Cuneo, a Hillel of Greater Toronto summer intern placed at
CFRAM and the co-organizer of the drive.
“We brought in nearly 20 people, the [daily] average [at
the clinic] is 44. That’s almost half of what they would have
brought in,” said Cuneo, a York University master’s student.
“I really hope that, in this program, we were able to facilitate
people’s ability to give blood in a way that was sort of
more comfortable. We were able to go as a group rather than
going by yourself and donating.”
For Lyla Abells, a Western University student going into
her third year and a fellow Hillel intern and event organizer,
the drive is a way to give to Toronto’s broader community.
“I think it’s important for Hillel to not only be responsive
to Jewish causes,” she said. “We are a part of the greater community
and we can’t forget that.”
Being a part of the greater community, for Abells, means
responding to an important need.
According to the Canadian Blood Services, 52 per cent of
Canadians say they or a family member have needed blood or
blood products for surgery or medical treatment.
“There’s such a need for blood. We don’t realize how
many people need it,” she said. “So many people are scared
to [donate]. This gives them a boost. We’re giving people that
last little push to do it.”
And it’s an important push, especially since each blood
donation can save up to three lives.
Ryan Kroll, who is going into Queen’s University for
medical school, has given blood before, mainly because he
has a B negative blood type, which is rare.
“It’s always good to give while you can,” said Kroll, adding
that, while he came out, he wasn’t able to donate blood this
time because of a recent trip to Panama, which could put him
at risk for developing malaria.
The event, which included a barbecue, also helped raise
awareness for Rambam Hospital in Haifa.
“[It’s] a 1,000-bed teaching hospital… that serves about
two million people. That’s a third of Israel’s population,”
Cuneo, who helped pass out pamphlets and answer questions,
said.
Cuneo added that the hospital sets a good example for Canadians.
“In the wake of the flotilla [incident], the hospital took in
both activists and soldiers. They provide medical care regardless
of who you are. That’s something I think is very pertinent,”
she said, adding that the hospital was the first in Israel
to have an Israeli Muslim woman to head a department.
“It’s an example of Jews and Arabs working together.
That’s an example we can take with us back to our campuses,”
she said.
