Regina man celebrates 400 platelets and plasma donation
Wade Murray marked a major milestone on Friday. The former Regina city councillor has donated platelets and plasma through the Canadian Blood Services 400 times.
“I never really thought too much about it, but as I was getting closer to 400, I thought this is kind of neat and started to see that as a bit of a milestone,” said Murray.
Murray said his journey of donation began in the 1980’s.
“About 1986 or so, I was 17. A friend of ours from summer camp, her mom worked at Canadian Blood Services and said, ‘Why don’t you guys do something productive instead of being a bunch of yard apes and said why don’t you go down and give blood,’ so I did,” he said.
“I started giving whole blood on a regular basis and did that for a number of years. In 2001, I actually switched from giving whole blood to platelets and plasma, so I’ve been doing that ever since,” he added.
Murray has donated around 280 litres of product, which more than twice his body weight.
With New Year’s fast approaching, Murray said a resolution could be to become a donor.
“It’s pretty easy to do. You can come down here, book an appointment or you can go online and book an appointment and they will bring you in and treat you like a rock star, frankly. If you like it, great, keep doing it, it’s a great resolution. If you don’t like it, at least you can say you tried.”
He isn’t stopping at 400, though. Murray plans to continue to donate as long as his platelets and plasma remain in a healthy condition.
Anyone who is interested in becoming a donor can find more information on the Canadian Blood Services website.
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