The parents of a three-year-old boy who received numerous blood transfusions to fight leukemia will make their very first donation. They invite Quebecers to follow their example in order to save lives like William’s.
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On a July evening last year, Jonathan Paquet and Dominique St-Hilaire showed up at the emergency room with their toddler because he was feeling unwell.
“His white blood cell count was completely down. When he left, he was saved by two blood transfusions,” his father recalled.
The past year has been a busy one for her child. At only two years old, he underwent numerous chemotherapy treatments, in addition to half a dozen blood transfusions and several other platelets.
“If he hadn’t had that blood, he wouldn’t have survived. It was a matter of life or death. With all that, we realized the importance of having donors and a full blood bank for this kind of emergency,” explained Dominique St-Hilaire.
Scared
She has never given blood before because of her terrible fear of needles: “Having seen William get stung every week in the last year, I tell myself that if he is capable, I can take it upon myself, overcome my fear and go. What he is going through is 100 times worse and he does it with a smile,” she said.
She also remembered the times when her child had to be stung, sometimes in the hands or the bend of the elbow, for tests.
“He was crying, but at the end he was still saying ‘Bye bye madam’ to the nurse, smiling,” she said with a touch of pride in her voice.
Thus, the parents will make their first blood donation today as part of a collection organized by the Laval Fire Department, where they work, he as a firefighter and she in fire prevention.
“Each of us may need a transfusion one day, whether it’s during childbirth, a car accident or if your child becomes ill. It’s important for everyone to participate in the effort,” said Ms. St-Hilaire.
Fewer donors
Since April, Héma-Québec has seen a drop in traffic, both at mobile blood drives and at blood and plasma donor centres.
“The sixth pandemic wave has created a significant impact on our blood and blood product supplies. Regular donors are responding, but we are short of new donors,” explained spokeswoman Josée Larivée as part of National Blood Donation Week, which runs until next Sunday.
Especially since the youngest donors were previously recruited on CEGEP and university campuses. “The crowd on these places is not what it used to be,” said Ms. Larivée.
“Taking just 30 minutes to donate can make all the difference in someone’s life,” insisted Jonathan Paquet.
William, who will celebrate his third birthday in two days, is now cancer free. But to avoid a recurrence, he must continue treatments every three weeks, until September 2023.
“When it’s all over, he can finally ring the little bell in the hallway of Sainte-Justine Hospital. We can’t wait to get to that time, ”dropped his father.