Syrian hopes Canadian Blood Services will ease strict language requirements for donors

A group of Syrian Calgarians held their third blood drive of the year on Boxing Day, and one of the donors is hoping Canadian Blood Services will loosen language restrictions to allow more newcomers to donate in future.

Sam Nammoura of Syrian Refugee Support Group Calgary says the group had heard from Canadian Blood Services that the holidays are some of the slowest days for donors.

"They said we have a shortage on Boxing Day we'll be looking for 20 donors to come in to fill all the spots available," he said.

Instead of 20 people, 23 showed up.

Form of devotion

The donors were a mix of people new to Canada, some who have been in the country as long as three yearsand some just a few months.

"Donating blood in Syrian culture is really considered one of the highest forms of devotion to any cause. So for Syrians, for the last few years, they've been donated really generously and kindly from everybody. So any opportunity for them to show that appreciation, usually they don't hesitate," Nammoura said.

"So donating blood for them is very symbolic plus it's the way to show their appreciation to the country and to the Canadian community."

Butthey're hoping to expand the number of donors who can come, which iscurrently limited byHealth Canada's language requirements, Nammoura said.

"The only problem is English language, because the Canadian Blood Services are very strict on their language requirements so that limits the number of donors who want to come," said Nammoura.

Translation

Donors must speak either English or Frenchand cannot typically use a translator, as they're dealing with sensitive medical information. However, that service could be made available under the right circumstances.

"With plenty of advance planning, we can explore providing interpretive service for donation parties with approximately 20 pre-qualified prospective donors," wrote an unidentifiedCanadian Blood Services spokesperson by email.

"We would connect interested parties with a local territory manager to discuss this possibility. This is done before booking donor appointments."

The spokesperson said the language requirements are in place to ensure donors can communicatewith staff and understand the written materials provided during the screening process.

More blood drives

According to the 2016 census, there are 648,975 Canadians who speak neither English nor French, 59,280 of whom live in Alberta.

"We need to encourage them to come and donate and make it a habit and a tradition," Nammoura said.

Canadian Blood Services posted a call on Dec. 18 for 30,000 donors by Jan. 6.

Boxing Day was the group'sthird blood drive of the year.

On April 14, they plan to continue an annual tradition they started this year Syrian Canadian Donation Day.

"We're going to do blood donation throughout the country in all major cities 2019 is going to make it a tradition for years to come," Nammoura said.

• MORE CALGARY NEWS |'Super sponge' seen as absorbent next step in oil spill mitigation
• MORE CALGARY NEWS |Mother of adult with autism calls Alberta's support system 'broken'
• Read more articles byCBC Calgary, like us onFacebookfor updates and subscribe to ourCBC Calgary newsletterfor the day's news at a glance