BURSTA Hope resident just made his 200th blood donation and he’s hoping it will inspire others to consider donating too.
“I’m very fortunate that I’m able to reach this accomplishment,” said Ian Williams. “And I hope to hear more people say that they’ve given 100 donations or more. I hope, when people hear this, that they get inspired to donate. Especially our young people. If you’re looking for a purpose in life, if you want to do something for others, it’s there.”
The Hope battalion fire chief and former president of the Hope Legion reached this milestone on Feb. 26 at the First Avenue Church clinic in Chilliwack. The simple procedure took him around 12 minutes to do and he received a pin acknowledging his dedication and hard work.
Ian, who has been a firefighter for 41 years, said donating blood fits well with his beliefs of doing what you can to help others and save lives. Born and raised in Hope, he began donating in 1963 while onboard the HMCS Saskatchewan. He joined the Royal Canadian Navy when he was 18, though made the decision to join when he was 15, after getting advice from his mother.
He said that his first donation was part of a competition among the ships in Halifax. The crew that donated the most blood would receive a cake baked by the HMCS Haida cook. Ian’s crew easily won the competition and donating blood became something that he began to take more seriously.
At first he was only donating once a year. However over time Ian began making multiple donations per year and now, in his 80s, he tries to give blood every 56 days.
The experience, Ian said, has been very rewarding and knowing that he may have saved hundreds of people’s lives has only made him even more determined to continue donating blood for as long as he can.
“This is not a race. It’s just something that happens and it happens over time,” Ian said. “It’s a slow process but good things happen, even if it’s unbeknownst to me. I don’t know who these people are but I know they’re very thankful that somebody out here is donating blood.”
The Canadian Blood Services hosts pop-up blood donation clinics throughout various locations. As of March 6 the nearest blood donation clinics to Hope are in Chilliwack.
Currently, two clinics are scheduled at the First Avenue Church (46510 First Ave.) and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (6300 Tyson Rd.)
At the First Avenue Church, appointments can be made for March 19, April 29, April 30, and May 20.
For the Latter-day Saints church, appointments can be made for April 9 and May 21.
The Abbotsford Donor Centre and Plasma Donor Centre Abbotsford are also located on 32700 South Fraser Way in Abbotsford.
The donation procedure takes five to 10 minutes and is done by skilled and specially trained donor staff. After donating blood, people are given fluids and salty snacks (usually juice and chips) while they rest and are asked not to do any strenuous activities for 24 hours. Ian said the entire visit, from the moment you enter the clinic to when you leave, normally takes around an hour.
People who donate need to wait at least 56 days before they can give blood again.
According to a Canadian Blood Services report from 2024, there is a global blood shortage and the need for red blood cells, blood plasma, and platelets in Canada is expected to grow within the next few years. A single blood donation can help up to three people and the federal government reports that at least 52 per cent of people have someone in their life who needed blood or blood products (medicine or treatments that require platelets, blood plasma or red blood cells).
Ian’s wife, Carol Williams, said that donating blood can be the difference between life and death for many people, especially for infants.
In fact, their daughter Amanda needed multiple blood-transfusions when she was a baby. Carol said that without those life-saving donations their daughter wouldn’t have grown up to be a school teacher with three children of her own and living her life in Saskatchewan.
“What Ian is doing is just an hour out of his day. But for somebody else, what he’s doing is so important for a baby, for a child, for anyone that is in dire need of blood,” Carol said. “Had we not had this, then our daughter wouldn’t have lived.
“We live in a country where people donate blood and we’re able to take advantage of that. Most people don’t think about it until all of a sudden something happens in your life and you need blood. And it’s so important that people donate.”
Blood donation appointments can be made through the Canadian Blood Services website.
To learn more on how to become a donor visit blood.ca.