This, via Kat Ast, offered me one concrete and tangible response to the question that often rises up in me when my heart feels breaky-achy, “but what can I do?”

Well, how about give blood?

Go to https://www.blood.ca/en and next time you’re in Vancouver, schedule a donation too.

Bo was 0-, the universal donor and most needed blood type.  What blood type are you? 🩸

Bo survived AML for over 2 years in large part thanks to generous blood donors 🙌

Bo had 67 blood transfusions and 96 platelet transfusions.  This was no small feat for a 1-3 year old!  It took all of Bo’s patience and a lot of energy on our part to keep him calm and happy.  Thank you to family for helping out!  Blood took approx. 3-4 hours and platelets took approx. 1-2 hours.  It involved being hooked up to an IV pole (which he was stuck to for most meds and chemo as well) and constant monitoring including his least favourite- “arm hugs” (blood pressures). It was especially tough for him at the end when we were very thankfully able to do transfusions at home, but that meant that he was stuck in a tiny, windowless room at our local clinic in Pemberton multiple times a week.
Let’s see how fast we can collectively give back the 163 units of blood that Bo used in his memory. We would love to see this goal met by Bo’s 4th birthday-November 12, 2020.
You need to make an appointment ahead of time and donations are needed more than ever right now, as collection centres have had to limit how many donors can donate to follow social distancing protocol.

In order to have your blood donation recorded under Team Bo, please join the team online before your appointment.  Alternatively, let me know and I will add your donation to our tally. ✨✨✨To join Team Bo✨✨✨:
•Log into or create your blood.ca account •Select PFL ORGANIZATIONS from the menu
•Add Team Bo’s PFL ID (👉TEAM0089443👈) and select JOIN THE TEAM

If you are comfortable doing so, please share a photo of yourself giving blood to encourage others to do the same. 👏💪 You never know when you or a loved one will need a life saving transfusion.
Thank you!!!!!! 🙌🙏💓🩸