Our October social was held a week early, in September, to meet our guest speaker's availability. 18 members and friends of the Rotary Clubs of Central Alberta (Canadian Blood Services Partner program) gathered at Cilantro & Chive in Red Deer to socialize and celebrate 5 blood donors: Jeffrey Dawson, Eric Madden, Anthony Judd, Sheila Scrutton and Judith McIntyre Thank you

Our team has grown by 6 new members, given 20 new blood donations and donated $400 to CBS in just a few months! Thank you for sharing the Partners For Life program with your family, friends and fellow Rotarians.

A big thank you to Cilantro and Chive for hosting this event and offering 5 Crème Brule desserts to our blood donors!

Shamus Neeson and Jasmine Vallarta from CBS joined us and Shamus shared his heartfelt and inspiring story of being an organ donor. He shared with us that it is critical that we attract 1 million new donors in the next five years to meet the rising health system and patient needs. Thank you Shamus for all the information you shared and all the questions you answered for us.

Our team has made 65 blood donations since January 1st, 2025! Our goal is 150 before the end of the year. Did you know that when you or someone you know joins our team that all their donations from the current year adds to our team progress? That's a great incentive for us to bring friends and family on board!

Rotary Clubs of Central Alberta also has a financial goal. Many of our team members cannot give blood but choose to give a monetary donation instead. Thank you to Ian Alexander, Dave & Edith Oxley and Judy-Ann Wybenga for their cash donations this month!

Shamus Neeson's Story

When Shamus Neeson added his name to the anonymous living organ donor rolls, little did he realize he’d be helping an old friend.

Neeson, the midday host on B-93.3, had originally intended to donate one of his kidneys to a friend of a Facebook friend who had been waiting eight years, and was turning to social media as a “last-ditch effort.”

“So we started the ball rolling,” Neeson explained in an interview. “I went through a bunch of tests, and once it was determined that I was eligible to donate a kidney, that’s when I reached out to that woman to say, turns out I can, I want to do this, let’s see if we’re biologically matched so I can donate a kidney. And it turns out we were, and it was awesome! So I felt great, she felt amazing, and we went along as planned.”

What stood in the way was Neeson’s own health. His blood pressure was too high, so he set out to lose 15 pounds, which was followed by a six month wait.

“Then one morning I woke up, again checked Facebook as we all do, and I saw that the woman I was supposed to donate a kidney to got one,” he said. She had matched with a deceased donor, whose other kidney went to the patient in the next bed. Neeson then added his name to the anonymous list.

“And then, all of a sudden I get a text message from my girlfriend, who says, well, a friend of a friend’s husband needs a kidney. I said, well find out their blood type. If I’m a match I’ll do it.”

Months later, Neeson’s girlfriend received word of the identity of the potential recipient of his kidney.

“She says, ‘Do you know a guy named Nelson Nobrega?’ I was like, honey, we went to high school with Nelson! That’s the guy that needs the kidney. I was like, I haven’t seen him in 20 years. We were friends on Facebook.”
The two went through the tests, and were found to be a match. The surgery is set for Feb. 8. Neeson said he’s prepared for the eight to twelve weeks of recovery awaiting him.

 “It’s going to be a slow go,” he said. “But I’m willing to do it. Because at the end of the day, a little discomfort for me is changing Nelson’s life. He doesn’t have to go to dialysis three times a week. He’s got a family. He wants family time. And I’m fortunately able to give it back to him.”

He said his biggest initial concern was his two kids, and whether he would be able to donate to them should the need arise. But he researched his questions and found that even if either child needed a transplant, they might not be a match.

During his research, Neeson also found strength from videos made by other donors and recipients, and their underlying tone about the need to give. He’s encouraging others to look into becoming living organ donors by visiting Canadian Blood Services’ website at blood.ca.

“It’s about humanity. It’s about giving. It’s about giving to yourself, giving to others. Because we are able to do that.”

Written by Geoff Smith