1,000 Donors Sought for Future PLASMAVIE Lounge - Héma-Québec steps up donor recruitment for its Sherbrooke centre

SHERBROOKE, QC, Dec. 9, 2015 /CNW Telbec/ - Héma-Québec is preparing for its upcoming arrival in Sherbrooke and is finalizing major work at its future PLASMAVIE Plasma Donor Lounge. With the opening a few weeks away, Héma-Québec is stepping up its recruitment activities to obtain the 1,000 registrations needed to reach the centre's initial objective.

Héma-Québec is calling on the people of Sherbrooke, Magog and surrounding areas who have thought about giving blood but haven't done so yet, as well as all current donors who would like to try the plasma donation experience and, perhaps, start making this type of donation on a regular basis.

Those interested can notify us of their intention to donate or get more information right now by calling toll-free 1-800-343-SANG (7264). Individuals who will be giving blood this week at the Magog (December 10) or Fleurimont (December 11) mobile blood drives can also find out more about the Sherbrooke PLASMAVIE by speaking with the team of recruiters on site.

The Plasma Donor Lounge, which will begin welcoming donors on January 29, 2016, is located close to shopping centres and big box stores, thus making it possible to donate plasma while running errands or passing through Sherbrooke.

Located at 3200 De La Rue King Ouest, the Sherbrooke PLASMAVIE required an investment of $2.34 million and benefitted from the support of Sherbrooke Innopole. It will employ 35 people in order to collect from 400 donors each week.

The yearly objective of 20,000 donations in Sherbrooke is very important to enable patients to obtain medications made from the collected plasma. The needs are significant. Héma-Québec will have to collect more than 200,000 litres of plasma per year by 2020 to meet these needs. Héma-Québec currently collects 55,000 litres. By reaching its objective of 20,000 donations, the Sherbrooke PLASMAVIE would provide approximately 15,000 litres of this precious blood component.

About Héma-Québec
Héma-Québec's mission is to efficiently meet the needs of Québec population for safe, optimal-quality blood and blood products, human tissues, cord blood, mother's milk and cellular products; to develop and provide expertise and specialized, innovative services in the field of human biological products. Héma-Québec encompasses 1,300 employees, some 3,000 blood drives and more than 160,000 blood donors every year, 16,000 volunteers and more than 500,000 blood products delivered annually to Québec hospitals to meet the needs of patients.

Give blood. Give life.

SOURCE Héma-Québec

Héma-Québec, Media line |514 832-0871, www.hema-quebec.qc.ca