This article was originally published in the March 2024 edition of Héma-Québec’s Magazine. All issues of the Magazine are available here.

Alain and Sarah-Maude, plasma donors

When helping others is in your veins

For the Bouchards, helping others and contributing to the greater good runs in the family. Sarah-Maude and her father Alain are both seasoned plasma donors who never miss an opportunity to do their part. Alain's dedication to giving blood over the years was inspired by his own father, and his daughter Sarah-Maude was quick to follow in both their footsteps.

From a very young age, Sarah-Maude had been counting down the days until she could finally make a donation of her own. Her family’s influence was clearly a factor in her interest, but Sarah-Maude says she was also inspired by ads highlighting how maintaining a robust blood supply is key to public health. It's no surprise that she grew up to be a nurse!

The bandwagon effect

After turning 18, it didn’t take long for Sarah-Maude to start looking into making her first blood donation. The most logical choice was to donate plasma at her local Donor Centre, in TroisRivières. Impressed by her moxie, her father Alain was compelled to join her for her inaugural donation, marking the beginning of a father-daughter tradition that expanded considerably over the next few years. The pair now make a point of heading to the Donor Centre once a week.

“That’s my favourite part about giving plasma,“ says Alain. “You can donate every six days. The wait between whole blood donations is much longer. The shorter interval makes it easier to make a habit out of it and find a comfortable pace.”  

Alain recently reached a milestone of 215 plasma donations. Not to be outdone, SarahMaude is up to 120 donations. Looks like the start of a friendly family rivalry!

Sarah-Maude and her father are also big fans of donor appreciation evenings, which recognize specific symbolic moments in the journeys of generous donors. They also get to invite the rest of the family―Sarah-Maude’s mother and her little sister, both sources of strong, unwavering support. For the daddy-daughter donor duo, one of the many benefits of these donor appreciation evenings―beyond getting to receive tokens of recognition from Héma-Québec for certain donor milestones―is the chance to socialize and rub shoulders with other top donors and be inspired by their stories.

Even though Alain plans to keep giving plasma as long as his health allows, he has high hopes that Sarah-Maude will one day shatter his personal donation record. Now that’s what we call some healthy competition!