Feb 7, 2012
Intellectually challenged teen turned away as blood donor
LASALLE, Ont. — All Yanhong Dewan wanted for her 17th birthday was to donate blood.
When Canadian Blood Services refused her because the intellectually challenged teen couldn’t answer screening questions on her own, she was discriminated against, her mom Yvonne Dewan said Monday.
“She’s used to being told, no you can’t do this or you can’t do that. She’s always left out of all kinds of activities,” Dewan said. “I know it meant a lot to her.”
The LaSalle mom said she was in tears and her daughter felt like she had done something wrong when she was turned away at a LaSalle blood clinic Thursday. “It’s not fair.”
Nancy Wallace-Gero, executive director of Community Living Essex County, said it is troubling. Community Living in Windsor and Essex assists more than 1,000 people with intellectual disabilities.
“There is no reason why something as simple as the instructions and information that you have to give when you’re giving blood could be shared in such a way that it would be accessible, fully accessible to people of an intellectual disability,” Gero said.
Read more: http://www.windsorstar.com/health/LaSalle+teen+turned+away+blood+donor/6110694/story.html#ixzz1liYqIsVx
This is awful. I hope the publicity this article generates will force Canadian Blood Services to reverse course soon!
I agree, it is extremely discriminatory.