Breast Cancer: A Survivor’s Perspective

Here and Now

How blood donations are used

Red blood cells carry oxygen to tissues and help people in accidents, who require surgery or who have anemia. Shelf life: 42 days

Platelets clot the blood and can be used to treat leukemia and cancer patients. Shelf life: 5 days

Plasma promotes excessive bleeding and treats patients suffering from burns or shock. Shelf life: one year

A True Holiday Gift

If you’re finding it really hard this year to come up with a gift for a friend or relative who has everything, consider this — a card saying that, in their honour, you’ve given the perfect gift to a complete stranger: A better shot at life.

We’re talking about blood.

(As well as receiving a card to give, people who donate at clinics during the holidays can sign small stars that will go on clinic Christmas trees.)

Canadian Blood Services (CBS) is a nonprofit organization that manages the blood supply almost everywhere in Canada.* An Ipsos-Reid poll done on their behalf found that 52% of Canadians say they or someone they know needed blood or blood products, yet only 4% of eligible Canadians donate. Every minute of every day, on average, someone needs blood or blood products in Canada, according to CBS (www.blood.ca).

What better expression of the spirit of the season can you show than to the family of someone who’s been in a car accident (50 donors needed) or to a cancer patient (about eight donors needed per week)? Think of it as a double-duty gift: It’s for the person who has everything and for the person who needs it more than anything.

* In Quebec, the blood supply is managed by Héma-Québec (www.hema-quebec.qc.ca/anglais/index.htm).

World AIDS Day 2006: Friday, Dec. 1

For information about the Canadian AIDS Society, visit http://www.cdnaids.ca/web/casmisc.nsf/cl/cas-gen-0002!OpenDocument&language=english

Comic Condoms

Cartoons seem to speak a universal language — they sure make dubbing easier — and appeal across age groups (think of the success of prime-time shows like The Simpsons and South Park). So perhaps it’s not surprising that a series of AIDS-prevention public service announcements featuring a trio of animated condoms is an international hit.

The Three Amigos are condom-topped characters of different ethnicities named — wait for it — Shaft, Dick and Stretch. They’re the central characters in an independent awareness campaign, co-produced by Firdaus Kharas of Ottawa, to promote condom usage in order to stop the spread of AIDS.

The 20 spots have been adapted into 41 languages, including Thai, Russian, Urdu and Italian. Since launching a couple of years ago, the PSAs have received 30 international awards, Kharas says.

Do they get the message across? You be the judge: you can view some of the clips at www.thethreeamigos.org/psas.htm