CN Cheo bike-a-thon was a success, surpassing $2 million raised

Tashi Farmilo

Ten years ago, when Héma-Québec opened its donation centre at 205 Rue Bellehumeur in Gatineau, it was the eighth of its kind in the province. On April 22, the people who built it into something gathered to mark the occasion: staff, volunteers, donors and officials crowded into the space on a warm spring evening, eating cake and posing for photographs. The mood, even by the standards of a milestone event, felt unusually charged.

The reason became clear when William Fillion took the microphone. His daughter, six years old, was diagnosed last August with juvenile dermatomyositis, a rare autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks its own muscles and skin. He watched her struggle to walk, to climb stairs, to finish a meal, and described the sensation of watching a child who had always been full of life go quiet. "We had the feeling of seeing our little girl disappear, little by little," he told the audience. "No more dancing. No more singing. Just long days of rest with very little energy for the things that used to bring her the most happiness."

Her treatment is intravenous immunoglobulin, a drug manufactured from donated plasma. Before his daughter fell ill, Fillion had never heard of plasma donation and the thought of needles made him uneasy. That changed when he understood the connection between strangers' generosity and his daughter's recovery. He donated, then mobilised his family, friends and colleagues. More than 160 donations have since been made through their network, and his father now donates every week. "Behind each donation, there is a complete human chain," he said. "Each gesture made here contributes directly to lives like hers." Not long after her treatment began, his daughter started dancing again. "When I look at her today, I do not see a sick child," he said. "I see a happy little girl. And we owe that to all of you."

The story landed with particular weight given the scale of the need. Larivée, spokesperson for Héma-Québec, notes that only about three percent of eligible Quebecers currently donate plasma. The province collects enough locally to meet approximately 30 percent of its immunoglobulin requirements, against a target of 42 percent, and demand is rising. Since the centre opened in 2016, 14,000 unique donors have made more than 155,000 donations there. Lapierre, president and chief executive of Héma-Québec, credited the outcome largely to the relationships that form inside the building. Quebec now has 13 centres, up from eight when Gatineau opened, and the expansion is not finished. "There is still work to be done," Larivée said.

Few understand that dynamic better than Norman Quesnel, who has been volunteering at the centre since it opened. He knows which donors take milk in their coffee, who has been coming since the early days, and how many donations the regulars have accumulated, with some approaching 500. The social dimension, he said, is real: the conversations with donors, the rapport with staff, the small rituals of a place where people come specifically to do something for someone they will never meet. "I walk out of here with a smile," he said. "You might arrive with a bit of anxiety, but you leave feeling better. What it gives back to you is incredible."

Joëlle Guillemette, a donor who has been coming for eight years, arrived the way many do: a grandmother brought her, she had intended to give blood, and the staff suggested she try plasma instead. She sat down and has come back every month since, always the same Monday evening time slot, chatting during the roughly 45-minute donation process with regulars who have become friends over the years, asking to sit together, sharing the small jokes of people who have spent a great deal of time in each other's company for no reason except that they all decided to show up. The regulars share something obvious in common, she said: they are all, by nature, giving people. For anyone on the fence, she is direct. The staff will help with any anxiety, the process is straightforward, and the feeling afterward is worth considerably more than whatever hesitation preceded it. "It gives you more than your fear takes away," she said.

A competition among the region's emergency services, including firefighters, police officers and paramedics, is scheduled for May 8 to 30, in a bid to bring in new donors. The Héma-Québec donation centre accepts both walk-ins and appointments.