You can take the National EMS Stem Cell Challenge today as part of EMS Week.
From Noon till 8 PM — Grey County paramedics will be at Walmart in Owen Sound and Hanover, registering people to be bone marrow and stem cell donors.
Paramedic Rick Tremblay notes there are 800 Canadians awaiting bone marrow and stem cell transplants.
But he also points out 70 per cent of those people won’t find a match within their family.
Tremblay says registration today will take only 5 minutes — as all you have to do is answer some questions and take some swabs of your mouth.
Tremblay says this is a simple act to save someone’s life.
Tremblay notes the job of a paramedic today is a lot more than just giving people a free ride to the hospital.
He says they give people life saving treatment in the field — from administering CPR to giving medications — before even getting to the hospital.
Tremblay says their initial actions save lives.
Tremblay also notes their call volume has increased substantially because of the older population locally.
