Call for blood donors and donor profile: Vivi Pham

June 14 is World Blood Donor Day. Health Information Management (HIM) has been working hard to encourage its team members to answer the urgent call for blood. We have now had two group blood donation drives at the downtown Vancouver blood donor clinic, with plans for regular donations days every few months. We also encourage staff at other locations to donate blood in their communities. We urge everyone at PHC to go out and donate… it’s easy!

If you would like more information on how you can organize a group blood donation and get your team involved, visit the Canadian Blood Services website.

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Need more encouragement? Providence Health Care’s Vivi Pham shares her story on why she is a regular blood donor.

Q & A with Vivi Pham:

How long have you been donating blood?

Vivi Pham (VP): I have been donating blood since 2012.

Can you remember your first donation and how it came about?

VP: I honestly cannot recall exactly the reason why I wanted to donate blood but I do remember it was well planned out. I booked my first donation ahead of time for the day that I turned 17 (which is the minimum age to donate). I did all my research and made sure I would be eligible to donate when the time came and even arranged for a ride in case I got woozy.

Why do you keep choosing to donate?

VP: I grew up surrounded by incredibly kind and generous people and I guess the same values kind of rubbed off on me. It makes me happy knowing that I can do something meaningful and make an impact in someone else's life. I find with blood donation, the impact is felt almost immediately. It's also why I chose to pursue a career in health care.

Have other friends or family or co-workers joined you in donating before?

VP: I have made many attempts to convince my family and friends to donate and have unfortunately only convinced two people to join me. I will keep trying though! I used to be a CBS volunteer so I understand that there are many reasons why people may be unable to donate. I only use the appropriate amount of pressure to convince people, I swear!

Why should others consider donating?

VP: I believe it's a great way to give back. Not everyone is in a position to give financially so this is great for people who want to contribute to their community and it doesn't cost them anything – only less than an hour of their time once every few months. More importantly though, free cookies. 

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Check out this year's blood donors:

The first HIM blood donor clinic was so great, they're making it a regular team event.

Sally Lee, Jessica Hainstock (first-time donors), Ann Gibbon (L-R) and Elaine Yong represented the PHC Communications team and agreed that it's worth it to donate blood just to spend time with great people.

Eligibility requirements:

• Take the Canadian Blood Services Eligibility Quiz to see if you can donate.
• Complete the Donor Questionnaire for every donor.
• Watch a video on the donating process.