meet the vein train: qeh employees making a difference through blood donation
2 minute read
kate domarchuk visits the canadian blood services centre every few months to donate blood with her co-workers. she recently made a donation with a group of queen elizabeth hospital employees who call themselves the vein train.
vivian ulinwa
/
the guardian
seeing first-hand how important blood transfusions can be for patients, a group of queen elizabeth hospital employees has made blood donation a regular part of giving back to the community.
the group is called the vein train. they visit the canadian blood services centre every few months to donate blood together.
the team is made up of employees from the qeh physical medicine department and was formed about 18 months ago by a nurse co-ordinator who wanted to encourage more people to become blood donors.
kate domarchuk, front, joins from back left, todd waite, stacey turnbull, sarah o’neill and amanda powell as members of vein train, a group of queen elizabeth hospital employees who make blood donation part of giving back to the community.
vivian ulinwa
/
the guardian
sarah o’neill, a speech language pathologist at qeh who is also part of the group, visited the centre with four other team members to make another donation on june 11. she told the guardian that she does it because it feels great.
“it’s easy to do because we are a group of people who enjoy working together. we appreciate the need for blood, and we also appreciate wanting to help others.”
o’neill said working in health care makes members aware of how important blood donations can be.
“we hear it regularly at the hospital, we see patients who come in who might encounter a need for blood donations.”
for o’neill, donating blood is a simple way to help.
sarah o’neill, speech language pathologist at qeh, is part of the so-called vein train group from her workplace. she told the guardian that she donates her blood because it because it feels great to give back.
vivian ulinwa
/
the guardian
“it only takes an hour every few months,” she said. “it’s very easy for us to come and do.”
o’neill said she used to donate while she was in high school but stopped after moving away from home.
co-worker stacy turnbull has rallied the group and gotten a lot of them back on track with it, o’neill said.
todd waite, a certified prosthetist and orthotist at qeh, said joining the vein train gave him the chance to donate blood for the first time.
he said he had always believed he couldn’t donate because he is diabetic. after checking the eligibility requirements, he learned he could.
“i was thrilled,” waite said.
thursday was his fifth donation.
“it’s empowering. knowing the impact is that you’re saving lives, it’s pretty amazing to imagine.”
todd waite, a certified prosthetist and orthotist at queen elizabeth hospital in charlottetown, said joining the vein train gave him the chance to donate blood for the first time.
vivian ulinwa
/
the guardian
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waite said donating as a group also makes the experience enjoyable.
“it’s nice team building.”
o’neill said the staff at the donor centre help make the process comfortable for donors.
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vivian ulinwa is a reporter for the guardian in prince edward island. she can be reached at vulinwa@postmedia.com and followed on x @vivian_ulinwa.
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