Marcelle Gosselin: Donor Care Associate, Canadian Blood Services

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I love my job because I know how important blood is – you never know when you’re going to need it.

Local 200 - Canadian Blood Services

Whether it’s for surgeries, trauma care, organ transplants, childbirths, or chronic medical treatments, steady access to a safe blood supply is vital to Manitoba’s health care system.

That’s why front-line blood donor care associates like Marcelle Gosselin are so important. They provide a crucial service that makes modern health care possible – ensuring donors are eligible to give and are safe during their donation.

Marcelle works for Canadian Blood Services and she’s been doing the job for almost 20 years – that’s a lot of donation bags she’s helped fill and every unit she collects is critical in saving lives.

When a blood donor comes to the donation centre, Marcelle gets them registered and asks them to fill out a questionnaire to determine their eligibility. She checks their hemoglobin, their temperature, and ensures everything is properly labeled for the donation before starting the collection.

When it’s all finished, she applies a pressure bandage and keeps a close eye on the donor to make sure they’re OK before heading on their way. Then she gets the blood donation shipped off to a lab for testing.

It’s a job that requires a lot of attention to detail to make sure it all goes smoothly and the donors and patients receiving blood stay safe.

“I love my job because I know how important blood is – you never know when you’re going to need it,” she says.

After years working with donors, Marcelle didn’t know that she’d be one of the millions of Canadians to be a blood recipient. In February 2007 she went in for a routine surgery that did not go as planned. She ended up needing three separate blood transfusions as a result.

“It’s one of the many reasons I donate whenever I can, because I’ve also been on the receiving end of things.”

Taking caring of Donors and Co-workers

Marcelle is President of MGEU Local 200 - Canadian Blood Services and takes pride in her role supporting her fellow co-workers.

Even though she didn’t plan on becoming a union activist when she started at Canadian Blood Services, her fellow members could see she was the kind of person to get things done and they urged her to get involved.

“Next thing you know, we’re at a union meeting and I’m being nominated for Local President.”

It’s not an easy role to take on but she knows that if you take care of employees and ensure they have everything they need to do their job properly, you’re also investing in a better, safer service for Manitobans. At the end of the day, that’s why MGEU members like Marcelle do what they do.