Shia Muslim community rallies for life-saving blood donations in Thornhill

Hundreds of Shia Muslims set to donate blood on Sept. 3

Yorkregion.com
Sept. 1, 2023
Yoyo Yan

In a heartening display of compassion, the Shia Muslim community in Ontario is coming together on Sunday, Sept. 3, to donate blood and plasma, marking the religious observance of Arba’een.

Nearly 400 community members have booked appointments at various donor centres, with more than 130 expected to donate at the Jaffari Community Centre in Thornhill, between 10 a.m. and noon.

Amid recent challenges such as heatwaves, wildfires and floods disrupting blood collection efforts, the support of donors, including communities like the Shia Muslims, is invaluable, according to Canadian Blood Services.

This act of kindness follows a previous successful campaign, where Toronto-area volunteers recruited donors across Canada for the Global Blood Heroes initiative.

Not only are the Shia Muslims helping recruit new blood and plasma donors, vital for the 100,000 annual donor target in Canada, but they are also diversifying the donor base. This includes prospective stem cell donors, as a patient’s best chance of a matching stem cell donor often lies within a person of a similar ethnic background.

Sunday’s event in Thornhill additionally offers an opportunity to join the stem cell registry. Volunteers, including a family touched by the tragic loss of a patient due to the unavailability of a matching stem cell donor, will distribute free registration kits and assist with sign-ups.