For the past 11 years, Baljit Singh Ghuman has been raising awareness among Sikhs in Ontario about the importance of donating blood.
This is one way to give to others, in accordance with Sikh teachings and values. But it’s also an important way, he says, to remember the 3,000-plus Sikhs who died because of anti-Sikh violence in India in November 1984.
“Sikh blood was shed. And now Sikhs all over the world are donating blood,” Ghuman said.
“For us, it’s a healing process — coming out of this adversity while doing something good.”
The violence that followed the assassination of then-prime minister Indira Gandhi by her two Sikh bodyguards has not been officially recognized as genocide by the entire Indian government, Ghuman says. But diaspora communities in the province and even around the world are steadfast in calling it genocide and remembering the event.
Ghuman helped spearhead the Ontario network from Brampton 11 years ago as part of Sikh Nation, a network of global volunteers who launch local blood drives each November in recognition of the 1984 anti-Sikh violence.
The group has been the most prominent partner of Canadian Blood Services in the country for the past two decades. More than 160,000 lives have been saved since the network launched in 1999, Guman says, and things are improving every year.
Baljit Singh Ghuman helped launch the Ontario Volunteer Network in 2011, where the group launched its first blood donation clinic. This year, volunteers celebrated the most clinics ever with 15 events across the province. (Spencer Galichan-Lowe/CBC)
“We had to educate people, as people were afraid to donate blood in our community,” said Guman, who helped run Saturday’s campaign at the newly opened plasma donation center in Brampton.
“But we don’t need to call them now. They call us like, “Hey, it’s November, so I want a date.” So things are turning around.”
Why regular giving is important
While each year focuses on donating blood, Saturday’s Brampton clinic was different. In a first for volunteers from the Sikh Nation in Ontario, the clinic focuses on donating plasma for Canadian Blood Services.
The organization says the need for plasma is four times greater than what is actually collected, as more than 100 plasma donors are needed to help treat one patient for a year. But with plasma, female donors can donate every 14 days, while male donors can donate every seven days.
Gurinderpreet Mann is one of them. He spends about an hour and a half each week donating plasma. This month, he’s doing so with the 1984 massacre in mind, but he also hopes to send a message to communities that have experienced something similar.
“We are all human and should be treated equally,” Mann said.
“We are saving lives by donating blood and giving a positive message that genocide should not happen anywhere in the world.”
The holiday spirit gives donor Amandeep Brar extra motivation to give. As a donor for the past two years, she says it’s a way to bring joy and happiness to someone in need, for free.
During the pandemic, donors would cancel or no-show their appointments at higher rates than normal, Canadian Blood Services said, while during the winter holidays, donations typically drop while demand increases.
“I’m going to ask everyone to come out and give what they can to give back to the community and make us a stronger nation.”
Amandeep Brar says he also donates blood in memory of his father, who himself was a regular blood donor. (Spencer Galichan-Lowe/CBC)
Creating similar community partnerships
Canadian Blood Services says there are more than 60,000 vacancies across Canada that need to be filled by the end of this year, with a particular need for A and O positive and negative blood types. In addition, there are more than 1,000 people waiting for a stem cell match and 4,000 waiting for an organ transplant.
With that in mind, the success of the Sikh Nation blood drive is something Canadian Blood Services wants to replicate with other communities.
“We have a very proud and long partnership with the Sikh Nation,” said Canadian Blood Services CEO Dr. Graham Sher. The organization says it has been working with the network for 23 years.
“We are extremely grateful to them. They have made an extremely important commitment across the country.”
One of the ways it hopes to achieve this is through the recently launched Give 3 in 2023 campaign, which asks Canadians to commit to donating three things that can support the organization, such as blood, plasma and stem cells, financial donations or time for volunteers.
“Today we have a steady supply of blood, but the demand never goes away.”
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