By Matthew Abrey
David Stacey seems like a pretty normal guy.
He grew up in North Vancouver, worked at the Bank of Commerce for many years before settling in Coldstream, and has a lovely wife, to whom he regularly refers to as his 鈥渂etter half.鈥�
Oh, and he just happens to have donated blood more than 150 times.
Because of that remarkable feat, Stacey was honoured at an annual recognition ceremony hosted by Canadian Blood Services in Kelowna Thursday night.
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He said the first time he walked into a clinic to donate, just the thought of it got his blood pumping.
鈥淚 had a manager when I lived in Lillooet, who told me that a competing credit union had challenged us to see who could get the higher number of donations and that I was participating,鈥� said Stacey. 鈥淚 told him I was a little afraid of needles, and he said 鈥榥ot today you鈥檙e not,鈥� so down we went,鈥� he laughed.
That was in 1976 and Stacey hasn鈥檛 slowed down since.
鈥淚f people want to make a difference, they need to take a look at themselves and be that difference,鈥� he said. 鈥淐anada鈥檚 wonderful because we give because we care. There鈥檚 no money involved, and other than the cookies and the juice at the end, there鈥檚 no big reward for it.鈥�
However, despite the night鈥檚 celebratory theme, it was also made clear that new donors are always needed. One in two people in Canada are able to give blood, but only one in 60 actually do.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a big thing when somebody commits that much time and that many donations to our organization to saving lives of hospital patients, and it means the world,鈥� said Gayle Boyer, territory manager for Blood Services Canada. 鈥淏ut the need persists for more donors, so we encourage people to stop by one of our many clinics in the Okanagan and help families in need, who can鈥檛 ever thank donors enough for the contributions they鈥檝e made.鈥�
You can find clinics near you. Check out .
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