Broncos, Blades team up for blood services awareness event through Hockey Gives Blood
SASKATOON “You don’t even really feel it,” a nearby blood donor said to Humboldt Broncos player Michael Bladon as he waited his turn in the Canadian Blood Services clinic in Saskatoon.
vbladon and the rest of the Humboldt Broncos, along with players and coaches from the Saskatoon Blades, came out to the blood services clinic on Saturday afternoon to learn more about the donation process and the people it supports.
While getting testing done on site, Bladon learned that his blood type is O negative — the universal donor type used often in emergency situations and possessed by just seven per cent of Canadians, according to the Canadian Blood Services website — and decided he had to donate.
“That was kind of the last straw,” Bladon said with a grin as he had his blood drawn. “If I’d known it was this painless, I probably would have done it earlier.”
Bladon ended up being the only player from the Broncos or the Blades to donate blood on the day of the event, and he said he hadn’t planned to when he woke up that morning.
The event was organized by Canadian Blood Services and the new non-profit organization Hockey Gives Blood, co-founded by Stu Middleton in the wake of the tragic Humboldt bus crash in April.
Middleton, who played hockey when he was younger, said his father died in a crash while on the way to see one of his games. For him, this new organization was a chance for the hockey community to give back and be a part of something with the potential to save lives.
“I was 37 years old and never donated blood until a couple months ago,” Middleton said. “No one told me it was important ... I was never exposed to it. By bringing the young guys here and the players here, we can show them how important it is.”
Canadian Blood Services territory manager Mike Fisher said there were lineups outside the door of the centre in Saskatoon on the morning after the bus crash in April. Fisher said every donation is crucial, and with blood having an effective preserved life of 42 days, it was crucial for people to continue to give blood as well.
“It goes up and down with donation. Right now it’s been really strong in Saskatoon,” Fisher said.
“We put out an urgent need (notice) in August, and people responded greatly.”
In a side room of the blood services centre in Saskatoon, players from the Blades and the Broncos crowded around tables and small displays. Many of them had their fingers pricked slightly to test their blood type, and most swabbed the inside of their mouths as part of the test for stem cell donation.
Broncos head coach Nathan Oystrick said the team has always tried to give back to the community, and that trend was going to continue.
“Obviously, with everything that happened in April, I thought it was important that we be here and try to help out as best we can,” he said. “It’s a small thing that doesn’t take a bunch of time, but it can definitely help save peoples’ lives and help peoples’ lives.”
For Bladon, there’s a personal connection as well. He said his grandfather passed away recently, and now that he knows the amount of good his donation can do as a universal donor, he felt like it was a choice for his family.
“It means so much to me,” Bladon said. “He had a thing on the wall that was sent by ... Canada Blood Services (for) 100 donations, and I just think if I could achieve the same thing, he’d be proud.”