- That's why I grabbed the
occasion."
- François Therrien, in charge of
the blood donor clinic, said Nissan officials contacted the Red Cross
and asked them to set up a clinic aboard the ship. He added that Nissan provided some volunteers.
- The clinic was open from 10:30
a.m. to 8 p.m. and by the time it closed last night, 137 people had
donated.
- But the drive got off to a slow
start. By noon, only 30 people had given blood. Some people blamed it on
a lack of publicity, but one donor blamed the AIDS scare
- Kathy Tolmai, 23, said she
decided to give blood aboard the ship because it was the closest clinic
to her place of work.
- She said she tried to persuade
her friends to come with her but they said they were afraid of the risk
of getting in contact with the AIDS-related virus.
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- "I don't know why. Of all
people I don't think the Red Cross would re-use needles."
- Acquired immune deficiency
syndrome is mainly transmitted through semen, vaginal fluid and blood.
- Ibrahim Wehbe and Marie
Veronneau said they had just decided to take a walk through Old Montreal
and the next thing they knew, they were giving blood.
- "We saw the ship, decided
to come and see the cars, saw we could give blood, so here we are,"
Veronneau said.
- It was Wehbe's first time giving
blood. "I hope I don't faint because I want to see the cars,"
he said as the nurse approached.
- The Nissan ship, the Honmoku
Maru, is docked at the Jacques Cartier pier at the foot of St. Laurent
Blvd. until Friday and is open for business every day from 10 a.m. to 8
p.m.
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