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Blood Donors Needed

Eileen Velthuis News Editor

Canadian Blood Services (CBS) has launched a new campaign called “Roll up your sleeves Canada!" in order to attract

160,000 new blood donors across the country this summer.

CBS is a non-profit organization that manages the blood supply in. all provinces and territories across Canada, excluding Quebec. They operate more than 10,000 donor clinics annually.

According to CBS’s projected patient demand, 245,000 more units of blood need to be collected in Canada between May 14 and September 3 of this year. CBS projects that the demand for blood will keep rising by at least eight per cent per year for the next few years.

CBS reports that only about three per cent of Canadians regularly donate blood. If the 160,000-new-donors target is met, that would make five per cent of Canadians regular donors.

Charles Lester, Maple Ridge Community Development Coordinator for Canadian Blood Services, said that if

CBS doesn’t reach these goals, they'll be in extremely short supply by 2005. "We’re low all the time ... blood is always need- ed," he added.

Regular blood donor clinics are held in Maple Ridge every second Friday. The next clinic will be held at the Christian Reformed Church at 20245 Dewdney Trunk Road from 1:30-—8p.m. on June 7, and donors are asked to bring identifica- tion. The next clinic in Coquitlam will be held June 5 at 1200 Cartier Avenue, from 1:30-8p.m. In New Westminster, the next one will be Friday June 14 from 1—8p.m. at 76 Jamieson Court in the community room.

Anyone interested in donating blood can call 1-888-2DONATE for eligibility or clinic information or to book an appoint- ment. More information can be obtained from the CBS website at www.bloodser- vices.ca.

New "Buckle Up" Initiative

Eileen Velthuis News Editor

The "National Road Safety Target 2010" ini- tiative has been put forth by RCMP Traffic Services across. the country, in partnership with Transport Canada. The plan? Reduce road deaths and injuries by 30 per cent by the year 2010.

In order to achieve this goal, various avenues are being explored, how- ever, according to RCMP statistics one of the most effective ways to save a life is to buckle up. These statistics state that a person has a 50 per cent chance of surviving a crash if they are wearing a seatbelt and only a 5 per cent chance of surviving if they are relying on just an air bag.

Not wearing a seatbelt can result in an $86 fine. Recently

Ridge-Meadows RCMP conducted a seatbelt check on Hammond Road and Maple Crescent, and in one and a half hours 22 drivers or passengers received fines. The Ridge- Meadows RCMP and other police forces regularly conduct this type of enforcement.

The RCMP report that a recent survey conducted in the Maple Ridge area found the seatbelt-wearing rate in urban and rural areas of the community to be approximately 78 per cent. In contrast, ICBC statistics for the whole province state that 93 per cent of drivers wear their seatbelts. ICBC also reports that women have a higher seatbelt-wearing rate than men and that seatbelt-wearing rates are lower at night and in rural areas.

The Ridge-Meadows RCMP responded to more than 820 crashes last year alone, and state that many injuries and deaths could be prevented with the proper use of seatbelts. Constable Beckerleg of the Ridge-Meadows Traffic Section said, "Everyone always says it doesn’t happen to them—well tell them to talk to their friends, relatives, neighbours—it does happen to them."

The new road safety initiative hopes to increase the use of seatbelts to 95 per cent across the board, making Canada the safest country in the world to drive in.