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home / 世界杯决赛2022

'our kids need that blood to live': donors, recipients upset after canadian blood services lifts mask mandates

"we're trying every day to tell canadian blood services that this is not what people want.”

by bruce deachman
published aug 11, 2022
read time 4 minute read
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read time 4 minute read
join the conversation
joanne benoit donated blood in january, april and, most recently, on july 25, the same day that cbs announced — without advance warning — its suspension of mask mandates and physical distancing. she has cancelled a scheduled appointment to donate blood again in october. tony caldwell / postmedia
joanne benoit phoned canadian blood services on wednesday to cancel her october appointment to donate blood after learning the organization had lifted its covid-19 mask mandate. “i find it very irresponsible,” she said. “people are doing a good service donating, and to put them at additional risk doesn’t make sense.
“i think they should reverse it — today — and apologize.”
semi-retired from shaw communications and a volunteer at the mission, benoit resumed giving blood regularly in january after hearing about an eight-year-old arnprior boy, easton harris, who has aplastic anemia and was encouraging donations through his easton’s hockey fight for life campaign.
“i used to give blood regularly. when i saw his story, i thought, ‘it’s time to do it again.”
she donated in january, april and, most recently, on july 25, the same day that cbs announced — without advance warning — its suspension of mask mandates and physical distancing.
“i was in the middle of donating blood,” benoit recalled, “and noticed a couple of people not wearing masks, which i thought was odd, but i didn’t ask about it. then i saw on twitter that they had removed the mask mandate.”
the following day she took to social media. “ask for proof of vaccination from donors then,” she tweeted. “majority of people being fully vaccinated does not ensure protection of donators and workers. masks are a no-brainer.”
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others have voiced similar concerns, many suggesting the change will discourage donors at a time when blood supplies are perilously low. cbs says it has just three days’ worth of o-positive and o-negative blood and not much more of other types. there are also 50,000-plus unfilled appointments in august alone.
donor frustration, however, pales alongside recipients’ anger and helplessness.
“i’m finding it very hard to stay quiet because my child’s life depends on the generosity of donors,” said ottawa’s kelly mckibbin, whose eight-year-old daughter, hillary, also has aplastic anemia. “without them coming to donate, i’m very worried about hillary’s chances should she relapse.”
mckibbin said she had reached out daily to cbs, but hadn’t received a response beyond that they were considering options. she’d like to see the organization at least offer one day a week with mask mandates in effect.
“i’m a blood donor as well,” mckibbin said, “and i’m unable to go anymore because of the mask mandate being lifted because i’m unable to go into a maskless environment at this time with an immunocompromised child.
“we will not stop until they at least bring a day back with mandates, or unless they want to tell these people their blood is not wanted. we’re trying every day to tell canadian blood services that this is not what people want.”
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easton harris’s mother, amanda harris, agrees. since cbs changed its mask policy, she’s heard of numerous donors cancelling appointments.
“it’s heartbreaking that they took away the mask mandate,” she said. “and not just for easton, but for all the kids i see at cheo, and many adults as well. i understand that some people don’t want to wear masks, and that’s their choice, but, for someone whose son is immunocompromised … our kids need that blood to live.”
mckibbin is also concerned over cbs’s announcement in june that it was stopping processing and banking of cord blood for three months owing to a shortage of processing kits. cord blood collection provides stem cells used in treatment of such conditions as cancer and anemia.
mekki macaulay, executive director of donate a mask project canada, a not-for-profit charity distributing free n95 masks and covid-19 testing kits, has offered masks to cbs in case its policy change is at all driven by financial considerations, although he very much doubts it. 
he describes the change as “dangerous” to donors and nurses now more likely to spread covid and to recipients whose health may be at risk.
further, he believes the decision was made to appeal to anti-maskers, whom he describes as a fringe minority with a big megaphone.
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“they’re not actually representative of what most canadians want,” macaulay said. “so i think it’s a terrible policy, i think they’re not thinking this through, and it probably makes people wonder about their other safety policies.”
canadian blood services declined a request for an interview, instead offering boilerplate statements that failed to address would-be donors’ concerns beyond, “we will continue to closely monitor the epidemiology and scientific knowledge and will reintroduce mandatory masks and physical distancing if necessary.”
mckibbin thinks cbs’s new policy can only fail.
“they’ve asked for new donors, but then they’ve not made a safe environment for donors to go donate,” she said. “the people who make the donations have been left by the wayside. it’s not the right way to go about it. we need to listen to the people who are donating the blood and find out what their needs are and find ways to meet their needs. that’s what cbs should be doing.”
bruce deachman
bruce deachman

born in fort william, on, a city that no longer appears on maps, bruce deachman has called ottawa home for most of his life. as a columnist and reporter with the citizen, he works at keeping ottawa on the map.

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