A hospital can obtain just about any pharmaceutical drug they require, but artificial blood cannot be produced. The chances of someone you love or care about becoming ill or suffering a traumatic accident and needing blood are high. Despite the risk, fewer than 4 percent of Canadians and only 1.5 percent of Ontarians will donate blood in their lifetime.
Floralove Katz is an Ottawa resident who has gone above and beyond when it comes to donating blood. She joined Canadian Blood Services’ Team 150, a milestone she hopes to inspire other Canadians to beat.
As a patriotic Canadian, Katz sees giving blood as a duty to her country. She is a proud Jew whose grandparents survived the Holocaust by escaping Nazi Germany after the passing of the 1935 Nuremberg laws when the Nazi state codified the worst antisemitic laws in history as a precursor to the mass murder of six million European Jews. Katz’s mother, who was just a child when her parents escaped the Nazis, was with her during her 150th donation.
Growing up in the long shadow of the Holocaust, Floralove Katz is a leading advocate for Holocaust awareness.
A true humanist, she lives by the saying of renowned first-century BCE rabbi and scholar Hillel the Elder, “Whosoever saves a life, it is as though he had saved the entire world.”
It is a motto that Katz’s father also lived by. Leon Katz was born in Montreal to Romanian immigrants. A Second World War veteran, he served in occupied Germany and became a leading biomedical engineer who developed technologies, including an infant apnea monitor, the Air-Shields Infant Incubator, external cardiac pacemakers, and the DC Defibrillator. He also designed cardiac surgery rooms and helped pioneer the heart transplant process in Canada.
Katz has been regularly donating blood for the last 50 years. On Tuesday, March 5th, she made her milestone ‘Team 150’ donation.
Each time blood is donated, Canadian Blood Services separates it into red cells, platelets, and plasma, all of which have different medical applications. Katz proudly proclaims that with her 150 donations, she has contributed towards saving 450 lives. Each blood donation amounts to 450 millilitres, just under two standard cups, and can be stored for up to 42 days.
As Katz sat for her 150th donation, her friend Joan McGorman in Victoria, British Columbia, was making her fiftieth donation. Instead of squeezing the heart-shaped stress ball donors use while their blood is drawn, the two friends shared their experience via video chat.
Katz has never missed an appointment to donate blood. Although she can always get time off work for this critical act of charity, she makes up for the time she misses and says it is always worthwhile.
A typical donation takes one hour, from initial check-in and screening questions to the procedure itself and the post-donation waiting period, where donors are offered refreshments and asked to sit under supervision for a short period.
While most Canadians will never reach 150 donations in their lifetime, every donation can save a life. Canadian Blood Services is also in need of stem cell donations.
The non-profit asks Canadians with type O- blood to donate as frequently as possible since this blood type is universal and can be used to save lives in emergencies when the blood type of a trauma patient is unknown.
To donate blood, call Canadian Blood Services at 1-888-236-6283, download the Give Blood app or book at blood.ca to schedule an appointment.
You can also register to volunteer to donate tissue and organs, volunteer your time, or make a financial contribution to the charity.
