The Montreal Canadiens will host their annual blood drive on January 22

MONTREAL – On Monday, January 22, 2024, the Bell Centre will host the 42^nd annual Canadiens Blood Drive in partnership with Héma-Québec. Over 700 donors are expected between 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. at the main entrance, located on avenue des Canadiens-de-Montréal. The objective of this major blood donation clinic, presented in collaboration with RDS, is to collect a large amount of blood units in order to maintain the collective reserve at an optimal level. Every day, Héma-Québec must collect at least 1,000 blood donations to meet the needs of all hospitals across the province.

Throughout the day, various members of the organization, including current players, coaches, Youppi! and Canadiens Alumni, will be on hand to thank fans for their generosity. Each donor will also receive a gift bag containing several Canadiens items.

Most adults in good health can give blood and help save up to three lives. Before registering or attending a blood drive, it is important for donors to first verify whether they meet all eligibility conditions by consulting the “Who can donate?” section on Héma-Québec’s website or by contacting the Donor Centre at 1-800-847-2525.

Initiated in 1981 by Montreal Canadiens legend Jean Béliveau and Claude Mouton, former sports commentator and announcer at the Montreal Forum, the Canadiens Blood Drive has resulted in 37,486 blood donations to this day. Since 1998, the Montreal Canadiens have been organizing their blood drive in collaboration with Héma-Québec, the exclusive supplier of blood products in Quebec. Over the past 41 years, the Canadiens Blood Drive has helped save close to 112,458 lives.

IMPORTANT REMINDERS TO DONORS  

Various measures are in place to ensure the safety of donors, staff, and volunteers at collection sites. To this end, please note that an electronic search is mandatory when entering the Bell Centre. In addition, according to NHL security policies, no backpacks, sports bags, laptop bags or large bags will be allowed inside the building.

Although we understand that many fans see this as an opportunity to meet the players, take pictures and get autographs, the main objective of this annual event remains to collect blood donations to help Héma-Québec meet the needs of the Quebec population. For this reason, anyone who does not intend to donate blood will not be able to enter the Bell Centre, even if they are accompanying someone who is.

To learn more about our policy for accompanying persons or to find out how to get to the Bell Centre and all the safety regulations applicable inside the amphitheatre, please consult canadiens.com/blood.

ABOUT HÉMA-QUÉBEC

Héma-Québec’s mission is to efficiently meet the Québec population’s needs for blood and other high-quality biological products of human origin. Héma-Québec has more than 1,600 employees, over 200,000 donors of blood, plasma, stem cells, mothers’ milk and human tissue, as well as thousands of volunteers at blood drive sites. Héma-Québec delivers nearly 800,000 human-derived biological products to Québec hospitals every year to meet patients’ needs.