NEWSMAKERS 2023: Angela DiMondo’s history with Canadian Blood Services
Yorkregion.com
Jan. 2, 2024
Brian Capitao
Angela DiMondo’s story is criminally underrated from my perspective. It didn’t get as many views as I would’ve liked, which is partially why I’m including it in my end-of-year newsmakers list.
It’s an example of how as journalists we are sometimes expected to cover boring ribbon-cutting ceremonies or press conferences. My job as the reporter is then to get people to care and look for not only something that’s newsworthy but that works as a narrative as well.
The story isn’t just about the fact that Canadian Blood Services opened up a clinic in Vaughan. It’s about why that’s important.
The beginning tells the reader of Angela DiMondo, who shared with me her remarkable journey of living with an immune deficiency disorder since the 1980s, and how she was ostracized because people at the time thought she was living with AIDS.
It’s an interesting beat in the story, especially since gay men were not allowed to donate blood for decades in Canada. Going into the grand opening, I did my research and posed the question to the business manager -- are gay men now able to donate blood?
And it does look like progress has been made. According to the Canadian Blood Services website, anyone, regardless of sexual orientation or gender, would be asked if they had new or multiple partners within the last three months of donating.
In my opinion, the story does a good job of breaking down a subject and making it relatable to an audience. It not only tells why the clinic is important for people like DiMondo, but shows the broader context of plasma and why it’s referred to as “liquid gold.”
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