Marc Parravano gave blood 146 times.
He regularly remembers going to the Blood Collection Center with his mother when he was a child and followed his traces after being 17 years old and was able to give himself.
“I have a feeling of accomplishment and reward because I like others,” said Parravano, now 40, in an interview.
Just as his mother did for him, he teaches his three sons that giving blood saves lives. His 11 -year -old child, Christian, proudly went with him to the center of donations wearing his hockey jersey number 84 when Parravano made his 84th donation in December 2023.
Parravano, who lives in Vaughan, Ontario, began to give total blood, which men can do every eight weeks and women can do every 12. But a few years ago, it has gone to the gift of plasma, the liquid part of the blood which can be taken every week because the cells of red blood, white blood cells and plates are returned to the body. The body replaces its plasma in a few hours.
Parravano is one of two percent of eligible Canadians who give blood and plasma, according to Canadian blood services. It is despite a recent survey suggesting that 71% of people agree that it is “one of the most significant ways that people can give back to their community,” said the agency.
But the demand for blood and plasma increases quickly and the current base of around 420,000 active donors “incredibly devoted” will not be enough, said Dr. Graham Sher, CEO of Canadian Blood Services.
On Thursday, the agency announced that it planned to recruit a million new donors in the next five years, citing a planned increase of 10% of blood demand due to an increasing and aging population.
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The need for plasma is even higher, with already insufficient quantities in Canada to make enough drugs by immunoglobulins. Over the past years, therapies on antibodies have been used mainly in patients with a certain type of immune deficiency, but are increasingly used experimentally to treat a wide range of diseases, including cancer.
Plasma demand should increase by at least 50% over the next five years, said Sher.
“We must have enough plasma in Canada so that we can have this immunoglobulin made from plasma collected in Canada, instead of depending on an international source very strongly,” he said.
“It is a lesson learned following the pandemic where we really cannot count on global supply chains … in particular for expensive and rare pharmaceutical products such as immunoglobulins.”
The Blood Services Agency uses several strategies to achieve its ambitious objective, said Sher, in particular by increasing the number of recovery centers in many regions of the country, they are therefore close to as many potential donors as possible.
“One of the most important obstacles to donation is time and convenience,” he said.
“(People say)” I used to donate at the end of my quarter work when I worked in an office tower in downtown Toronto. I am now a post-countryic worker and that you do not have a collection center within 30 miles in my house. So we hear a lot of that, ”said Sher.
The agency also widens the hours that are open hours, including Saturday in many places.
Growing hand to various communities and the confidence of strengthening is also an essential element of the plan, said Sher.
Patients with certain diseases react better to transfusions with blood which has a closely paired subtype which is inherited according to ethnic and racial lines, he said.
This is the case in sickle cell anemia, which is the most widespread in black populations, said Sher.
“When we look at our donor base today, the number of African black or Caribbean Canadians on the basis of donors today is considerably underrepresented compared to the percentage of the population who identifies themselves as black or African Caribbean,” he said.
“This is an example of a population that we want to target so that we can bring more donors … which will allow us to better correspond to our product to Canadian patients who will be of these populations or these ethnic origins.”
Attracting younger donors is also an important goal, said Sher.
“We really try to build a new generation of donors from an early age,” he said, noting that if a young person comes to give blood three times, they will often be donors for life.
Motivating more people to give blood requires a different argument from that of the agency in the past, he said.
“Everyone knows that giving blood can save a life … This message has been tried and tested and used on several occasions,” said Sher.
A new marketing campaign entitled “Who saves who?” emphasizes what donors withdraw from the experience of giving blood, including a feeling of success and connection with others.
A video presents actors representing patients in graphic situations where blood or plasma transfusions are necessary – including a traumatic fall, a car accident, a birth and a child receiving cancer treatment.
Everyone speaks directly to the camera, telling the spectator that they give them a chance to give.
“This campaign is really intended to put people out of their complacency to go from intention – (knowing) giving blood is a good thing to do – to action,” said Sher.