National Volunteer Week - Volunteers: vital for those who donate and receive
blood products

MONTREAL, April 19 /CNW Telbec/ - For this National Volunteer Week, with the theme "Volunteer for life", Héma-Québec would like to highlight the vital role played by community partners in maintaining the collective blood supply at a sufficient level.

Every day, hundreds of sick people must receive blood products in order to recover their health. Whether they give blood, organize blood donor clinics, work as volunteers at one of the call centres, or serve as members of the Association of Blood Donation Volunteers, the commitment of these thousands of partners to the cause of blood donation makes a very real difference... for life.

"National Volunteer Week provides an ideal opportunity to thank these Quebecers from all corners of the province who work every day so their fellow citizens can receive safe blood products, in adequate quantities, when they need them. Their contribution is priceless and enables Héma-Québec to fulfil its mission," said Dr. Francine Décary, President and Chief Executive Officer of Héma-Québec.

Honouring volunteers

Héma-Québec will make the most of this week, which is intended to raise awareness of the importance of volunteering and takes place from April 18-24, to honour the commitment of more than 950 volunteers at two recognition evenings, to be held in Montréal and Québec. Partners from other regions will be honoured next fall as part of a series of regional public meetings.

Héma-Québec, which is looking for new partners to operate the approximately 2,000 blood donor clinics organized every year, invites all those who are interested in joining its network of partners/volunteers to visit the Volunteers section of its web site at www.hema-quebec.qc.ca. Héma-Québec can also be reached at 514 832-5000, extension 162, for those in the Montréal region and the western part of the province, or at 418 780-4362, extension 2245, for those in the Québec City region and the eastern part of the province.

About Héma-Québec

Héma-Québec aims to efficiently provide adequate quantities of safe, optimal blood components, substitutes, human tissues and cord blood to meet all Quebecers' needs; provide and develop expertise along with specialized and innovative services and products in the fields of transfusion medicine and human tissue transplantation.

Héma-Québec counts 1,300 employees, some 2,000 blood drives and more than 300,000 blood donors every year, 16,000 partner volunteers and more than 485,000 blood products annually delivered to hospitals in Quebec to fulfill patients'needs.

Give blood. Give life.

For further information: Laurent Paul Ménard, External Communications Director, [phone], [email protected], www.hema-quebec.qc.ca; Source: Valérie Legault, Information Officer