At 71, this B.C. man has donated blood 500 times. He hopes others will consider rolling up their sleeves
According to Canadian Blood Services, one in two Canadians will need blood or blood products at some point in their life, or know somebody who will need it. And while about half of all Canadians are eligible to donate blood, only about one in 76 actually do, it says.
‘It’s benefitting real people,’ says George Cavey
Courtney Dickson · CBC News
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It’s in his blood, so to speak.
George Cavey’s mother suggested he donate blood when he was just 17, shortly after he’d left his home in Manitoba for post-secondary education in British Columbia.
His mother donated blood herself, and Cavey later learned his grandfather was a regular blood donor in Ottawa.
"I did it and it was pretty painless, and I thought, oh, this is OK," he told CBC’s On The Coast.
Now, at 71, he’s just rolled up his sleeve for the 500th time, and he hopes his story will encourage others to consider making a donation.
According to the Canadian Blood Services, one in two Canadians will need blood or blood products at some point in their life, or know somebody who will need it. And while about half of all Canadians are eligible to donate blood, only about one in 76 actually do.
A single donation could save three lives, Canadian Blood Services says.
Cavey said he kept going back, not just for the cookies, but because it’s an easy thing to do, and he enjoys catching up with the staff on site each time he goes in.
"That's a really encouraging part … they greet you, they know your name, they chat with you, [ask] how are your kids. It's a warm feeling going and I'm really happy to keep doing it."
George Cavey, now 71, has been donating blood for more than 50 years. (Submitted by George Cavey)
Originally, Cavey solely donated blood, he said. But the program changed following the tainted blood scandal of the 80s and 90s, and he learned about the importance of donating plasma and platelets. While those donations take longer than donating whole blood, he was able to do it more often.
"I did a lot of plasma over the years after the blood scandal, and then lately they've asked me if I could just switch over. In the last 100-plus donations or so I've been doing platelets."
Plasma is collected for plasma transfusions and for making medications out of plasma, according to the Canadian Blood Services, while platelets are used for platelet transfusions, which, as Cavey learned, can be used in cancer care.
One day, he was speaking with a friend who was being treated for cancer, when she mentioned her program was using donated platelets.
"I suddenly realized, hey, this is a real person that is getting platelets. That's probably not mine. But in our system, she's getting platelets from someone to help her," he said.
"It's real people that are benefiting from this."
The friend is now cancer-free, many years later, he said.
Three of Cavey’s four children joined him for his milestone donation on Monday, all of whom donate whenever they can, Cavey said.
"It is in the family," he said.
Having donated hundreds of times, Cavey has no intention of calling it quits.
"I plan to keep going as long as I'm healthy."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Courtney Dickson is a journalist with CBC News based in Vancouver, covering stories throughout B.C. She has previously worked for CBC in Kamloops and Toronto. She has won Radio Television Digital News Association awards locally and nationally, and in 2022, won a Webster Award.
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