Meet the P.E.I. man who has given blood 1,000 times

Ewen Stewart knows the drillwhen he enters the Charlottetown blood donor clinic on Tuesdays.He confidently sits back in the chair androlls up his sweater sleeve ready to give upa little bit of himself to help save others, something he has been doing for 68 years.

This Tuesdaymarks Stewart's1,000th blood donation, the first time that milestone has been reached by anyone on P.E.I.

His contribution to the Island community is amazing. Peter MacDonald

"I think it is wonderful if it helps a lot of people," said the 86-year-old Stewart.

Stewart isthe 11th Canadian to reach 1,000donations and the fourthin Atlantic Canada.

'That fellow helped save my life'

Stewart gave his first whole blood donation in November 1951 when afriendasked him if he'd like to comealong as he donated blood.

Stewart agreed and started the routine that would last for years. A competition at work encouraged him to continue making regularappointments to give blood, even if only a couple of times a year.

Stewartdonated134 whole blood donations over 42 years before switching to plasma once a week. Plasma is a blood component that is used to treatmany types of cancer, liver diseases and bleeding disorders.

One experience he considers especially memorable was being called late one evening to donate blood the doctor told him the man who needed his blood was a mutual friend.

"Then he told the person who had got the blood, and for years after thatevery time this person met mehe introduced me to somebody, he said 'That fellow helped save my life,'" Stewart said.

'He's enhanced lives'

Stewart's family members joined him on Tuesday for cake to celebrate the milestone.

According to Canadian Blood Services, one in twoCanadians iseligible to donate blood but only four per centof the population are active blood donors.

"It is 100 per cent accurate to say that he has saved and he's enhanced lives over that time," saidPeter MacDonald, Atlantic director of donor relations for Canadian Blood Services.

"It could be a hospital patient here in Charlottetown, it could be in the western part of the Island, could be someone across Atlantic Canada. We provide a national inventory, it could have gone elsewhere in the country but for the most part it's local first. So his contribution to the Island community is amazing."

Stewart said he plans to continue his routine of weekly donations to the Canadian Blood Services clinic in Charlottetown, until he is not longer eligible to donate.

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