Hamilton man marks 700th blood donation

Retired Hamilton police officer Joe Connors donated blood for the 700th time on Friday.  Connors has been donating blood since he was a teenager and says family ties and life on the job is what motivates him to continue giving back.

Connors says, “it becomes the way of life right? The only trouble about getting to 700 is that you’re old!” The 71-years-young retiree with the Hamilton Police Service was joined by loved ones and colleagues for the milestone moment at Ancaster’s Canadian Blood Services clinic Friday morning. The O-negative man says his donor days began at age 17, following in his parent’s footsteps. Particularly his mother Eva, whose photo is on a plaque at the clinic.

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Coming to the Ancaster clinic is a part of his routine, he comes every two weeks to donate platelets. Platelets are most commonly used for cancer treatment and donors can do it no less than 14 days after each donation. Plasma can be given once a week and whole blood every two months.

Canadian Blood Services says donating blood is critical for everyday medical care including managing diseases, medical procedures, and major surgeries. Clinic officials say there is a need for more donors.

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Hamilton Police Chief Frank Bergen and fellow officers celebrating with Connors. Connors says he’s encouraged colleagues to donate and when he was on duty, there was always a reminder to give back, “there’s that job opportunity where you’re seeing blood and blood loss, a lot, through violence, through accidents… Once start some of these things, it just becomes a way of life.”