>> JEYAN: A COLLABORATION BETWEEN CANADIAN BLOOD SERVICES AND THE VOLUNTEER SIKH NATION
RECENTLY TURNED 200 PEOPLE INTO NEW DONORS.
VICKY MOCHAMA IS COMMUNICATION SECURITY ESTABLISHMENT CANADAS NEW DIVERSITY JOURNALIST AND SHE
WENT OUT TO FIND OUT WHY SUCH CLINICS MATTER.
WELCOME.
>> VICKY: THANK YOU.
>> JEYAN: SIKH NATION AND CANADIAN BLOOD SERVICES HAVE TEAMED UP FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS
BUT LATELY THERE HAS BEEN AN INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE GIVING BLOOD.
TELL US ABOUT THAT.
>> VICKY: CANADIAN BLOOD SERVICES HAS HAD A CHALLENGE TO GET PEOPLE TO DONATE BLOOD OVER
THE COURSE OF THE PANDEMIC.
THEY HAVE SOMETHING LIKE A 31,000 SHORTFALL.
BUT THERE ARE POCKETS WHERE PEOPLE ARE REALLY INTERESTED IN DONATING BLOOD AND SIKH NATIONS
EFFORTS IS ONE OF THOSE.
YOU SEE THE SIKH COMMUNITY TURNING OUT IN DROVES TO DONATE BLOOD.
AT THE BLOOD DRIVE IN BRAMPTON I WENT TO THEY HAVE FILLED UP ALL THEIR SLOTS AND WHOEVER WAS
PREFERRED WAS GIVEN STEM CELLS OR SOMETHING ELSE BUT AT THEIR EVENTS THEY GET PEOPLE TO TURN
OUT AND GET THE DONATIONS THEY'RE LOOKING FOR.
>> JEYAN: I'M NOT ASKING YOU TO BE A HEMATOLOGIST BUT TALK TO ME ABOUT THAT.
>> VICKY: THINK OF YOUR BLOOD DEVELOPS LIKE A SAUCER AND ON THE EDGE OF THEM THERE ARE
ANTIGENS.
AND BLOOD TYPES YOU.
AND THEN THERE ARE PROTEINS CALLED THE RH FACTOR, THE RHESUS THAT GIVE YOU RH NEGATIVE OR RH
POSITIVE.
AND THAT'S AN INHERITED TRAIT.
BUT THERE ARE ALSO OTHER ANTIGENS THAT SIT ON THAT SAUCER THAT SHAPE WHAT BLOOD REALLY IS.
SO BLOOD, IN GENERAL DOESN'T SEE RACE.
BUT BLOOD IS GEOGRAPHICALLY CONSTRUCTED.
PEOPLE IN CHINA ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE O POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE AND HAVE DIFFERENT PRO-TEENS IN
THEIR BLOOD AND DIFFERENT ANTIGENS IN THEIR BLOOD CELLS.
SO IT'S AN INTERESTING QUESTION OF HOW BLOOD CELLS CAN BECOME RACIALLY CONSTRUCTED OR RACIAL
IDEAS.
>> JEYAN: VERY INTERESTING.
NOW THAT WE KNOW THAT WHY IS SPECIALIZED BLOOD MATCHING IMPORTANT?
>> VICKY: SPECIALIZED BLOOD MATCHING CAN BE REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE
RARE BLOODIES ORDERS OR RARE BLOOD IN GENERAL.
SOME PEOPLE JUST HAVE RARE BLOOD.
IF YOU ARE GOING TO GET A BLOOD TRANSFUSION YOU NEED BLOOD THAT MATCHES UP WITH YOURS OR ONE
THAT YOUR BODY WILL ACCEPT.
IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT YOU ARE ALREADY SICK.
IF YOU GET THE WRONG TYPE OF BLOOD YOUR BODY IS NOW FIGHTING SOMETHING ELSE IN ADDITION TO
WHAT YOU ARE ALREADY DEALING WITH.
SO THIS CAN BE A HUGE CONCERN FOR DISEASES LIKE SICKLE CELL DISEASE WHERE THOSE BLOOD TYPES
NEED SPECIFIC BLOOD.
IF YOU HAVE SICKLE CELL, FOR EXAMPLE, YOU ARE PROBABLY GETTING ON AVERAGE 20 TO 25
BLOOD TRANSFUSIONS PER YEAR.
SO YOU NEED VERY SPECIFIC BLOOD TO BE GIVEN TO YOU.
>> JEYAN: ALL RIGHT.
SO PEOPLE WHO HAVE DONATED PROBABLY KNOW THAT THEY HAVE TO GO THROUGH A NUMBER OF QUESTIONS
AND QUESTIONNAIRES.
SOMETIMES IT TAKES LONGER TO FILL OUT THOSE QUESTIONS THAN TO ACTUALLY DONATE BLOOD.
I'M HOPING YOU CAN BREAK THIS DOWN.
WHAT ARE SOME MEDICAL BARRIERS TO BLOOD DONATION?
>> VICKY: THERE ARE THE OBVIOUS ONES.
HEALTH IS A BIG ONE.
IS IT GOOD FOR YOU TO DOPE ATE BLOOD?
FOR SOME PEOPLE THIS THEY DONATE BLOOD THEY MIGHT LACK IRON AND THAT MIGHT LEAD TO FAINTING SO
THEY MIGHT BE TURNED AWAY FOR BEING ANEMIC.
AGE IS A BIG FACTOR.
YOU CAN'T HAVE ALCOHOL IN YOUR BLOODSTREAM.
THESE ARE FAIRLY STANDARD BUT THERE'S A BIG, LONG LIST OF THEM.
THOSE ARE SOME OF THE BARRIERS BUT THERE ARE OTHER BARRIERS THAT ARE MORE GEOGRAPHIC OR RULE
BASED ACCORDING TO CANADIAN BLOOD SERVICES OWN ELIGIBILITY RULES.
IF YOU EVER HAD MALARIA YOU HAVE A DEFERRAL AND THAT'S WHAT CANADIAN BLOOD SERVICES SAY WHEN
THEY SAY WE'LL NEVER TAKE YOUR BLOOD.
PEOPLE IN AFRICA WHO HAVE GOT MALARIA.
MALARIA DOESN'T NECESSARILY STAY IN THE BLOOD FOR AN ENTIRE TIME BUT ACCORDING TO CANADIAN BLOOD
SERVICES IF YOU HAVE EVER HAD MALARIA YOU CANNOT DONATE BLOOD.
>> JEYAN: NOT EVERYONE HAS ACCESS TO BLOOD CLINICS.
THAT'S ANOTHER PART YOU TALK ABOUT IN YOUR STORY.
HOW IS THAT BARRIER BEING OVERCOME RIGHT NOW?
>> VICKY: CANADIAN BLOOD SERVICES IS LOOKING FOR PARTNERS LIKE SIKH NATION WHO CAN GET
THEM DEEP IN THE COMMUNITY AND GET THEM TO WHERE PEOPLE HAVE NEED.
BUT I ALSO TALKED TO A TRUCK DRIVER AT THE BLOOD DRIVE WHO SAID HE DONATES BLOOD BUT HIS
STAFF THAT WORK AT HIS TRUCKING COMPANY CAN'T NECESSARILY MAKE IT OUT TO THE BLOOD DRIVE EVEN
IF THEY HAVE BEEN ON WEEKENDS BECAUSE THEY'RE DRIVING ALL WAY, EVERY DAY, EVERY SINGLE DAY OF
THE WEEK.
ONE OF THE CHALLENGES IS REALLY GETTING THE BLOOD CLINICS TO WHERE PEOPLE ARE AT.
AND SO IT'S AN ONGOING QUESTION OF HOW DO YOU GET THE MOST DIVERSE BLOOD POOL POSSIBLE IN A
REALLY CHALLENGING TIME WHERE PEOPLE HAVE DIFFERENT SCHEDULES AND DIFFERENT NEEDS.
>> JEYAN: ALL RIGHT.
SO THE BLOOD DRIVES IN NOVEMBER ARE ORGANIZED BY SIKH NATION.
ACTUALLY MARKS A SPECIFIC MEMORY.
WHAT IS THAT?
>> VICKY: IT'S THE 1984 SIKH GENOCIDE.
AND IT'S A MASSACRE THAT HAPPENED ACROSS INDIA AFTER THE ASSASSINATION OF INDIRA GANDHI.
AND THEY WERE BLAMED FOR THE ASSASSINATION.
AS I SPOKE TO ONE OF THE ORGANIZERS, FOR HIM IT REALLY COMES FULL CIRCLE TO BE
ORGANIZING A BLOOD DRIVE.
BECAUSE HE FEELS THAT SIKH PEOPLE'S BLOOD WAS SHED.
AND AS A RESULT, THE BEST THAT THEY CAN DO TO RAISE AWARENESS OF THE GENOCIDE IS TO THEN GIVE
BACK BLOOD.
FOR HIM HE SAYS THAT'S SQUARELY WITHIN HIS SIKH VALUES AND HIS CANADIAN VALUES.
>> JEYAN: LAST QUESTION TO YOU.
OF COURSE THERE ARE ABOUT 15 OF THESE DRIVES BEING PLANNED FOR THIS MONTH.
WHERE CAN WE FIND MORE INFORMATION ON WHERE PEOPLE CAN ACTUALLY GO DONATE BLOOD?
>> VICKY: YOU CAN GO TO THE CANADIAN BLOOD SERVICES WEBSITE.
AND THERE ARE LOTS OF LOCATIONS.
SOME OF THEM ARE PERMANENT, THERE ARE LOTS OF PLACES TO DONATE BLOOD BUT IF YOU WANT TO
SEE, YOU CAN GO TO SIKH NATION'S WEBSITE AND THEY HAVE BLOOD DRIVES ACROSS THE COUNTRY AS
WELL.
SO IF YOU AREN'T NECESSARILY IN ONTARIO YOU CAN DONATE BLOOD ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
>> JEYAN: ALL RIGHT, VICKY THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US ON THE PROGRAM.
>> VICKY: THANK YOU.