frequently asked questions
General Questions
The Need for More Ethnic Donors
Chinese Language Initiative
Stem Cells & Cord Blood
How To Join
Buccal Swabs
The Donor/Recipient
What are the chances of me being a suitable donor?
What if I am not fluent in English or French?
What is OneMatch doing to reach out to people of different backgrounds who do not feel comfortable speaking English or French? For example, I speak Cantonese.
So how does this language initiative work?
Can I register online in Chinese using your online questionnaire?
Will you have a Chinese-version of your website?
How do you determine who can translate?
Can anyone who speaks Chinese serve as a translator?
Are you also providing interpreters for other languages for blood donation?
What are the chances of me being a suitable donor?
Small but if you are chosen, you could be the onematch that saves a life!
What if I am not fluent in English or French?
Although it would be great to have you register, currently, CBS has language translation only in English, French, Spanish and Chinese and as such can only register potential stem cell donors who are able to give informed consent in these languages. Thus, a potential stem cell donor would have to complete the questionnaire and swabbing in any of these 4 languages. They are working on other languages but they are not yet complete.
What is OneMatch doing to reach out to people of different backgrounds who do not feel comfortable speaking English or French? For example, I speak Cantonese.
The need for diversifying the network to reflect Canada's cultural mosaic means that OneMatch must be able to meet the needs of diverse ethnic communities. One way of achieving this is by using interpreters in interactions with first-generation Canadians who would normally be excluded if unable to work through oral and written registration processes.
OneMatch is starting a language initiative that would provide interpretive services to donors speaking languages other than English and French, and our first step is in Mandarin and Cantonese. The Chinese-Canadian population is one of the under-represented groups on the OneMatch Network, and Chinese languages are the third largest mother tongue spoken in Canada (Statistics Canada 2006).
OneMatch recognizes that it will never be able to provide services for all languages. However it became clear that in order to grow our ethnic donor base OneMatch needed to look at testing language services.
So how does this language initiative work?
OneMatch documents - everything from our cheek swab kit and registration forms to specific medical correspondence - have been translated into simplified and traditional Chinese. This has been through a partnership with the Elizabeth Lue Bone Marrow Foundation in Toronto.
Translators will also be provided to assist potential donors making their way through the registration process and - if a donation is made - all the way through the post-donation follow-up. In total, there are 31 individual interactions that OneMatch may have with a potential stem cell donor.
Translated materials will be available for download from our website at ww.onematch.ca. Potential donors can also call 1 888 2 DONATE (1-888-236-6283) for more information.
Can I register online in Chinese using your online questionnaire?
Will you have a Chinese-version of your website?
Unfortunately, at this time no. Due to constraints with our web and server technologies, we can not support Chinese characters on our website. This includes having our online questionnaire in Chinese.
However, we have placed Chinese registration materials on our website with a link for downloading. Registrants can download, print and complete the forms in traditional or simplified Chinese and mail them to our OneMatch offices. They will be then contacted by an OneMatch representative and a certified translator, if requested.
How do you determine who can translate?
Can anyone who speaks Chinese serve as a translator?
It is important that a potential stem cell donor fully understands his or her responsibility as a donor before giving stem cells.
For example, the first part of the screening process to become a potential stem cell donor is the health assessment. This is a questionnaire that assesses a person's state of health, potential for giving stem cells, and potential risk factors to the recipient. A donor must be able to fully understand his or her responsibility as a donor and be aware of any associated risks to themselves or the recipient.
This means it is important for OneMatch to ensure consistent standards are met when translating sensitive, medical information so that there is no misunderstanding. This is both for the safety of the donor and the stem cell recipient.
OneMatch has partnered with AILIA (Association de l'industrie de la langue/Language Industry Association), which will provide the Network with links to certified translators within the Canadian language industry.
AILIA is an international leader in translation and interpretation services, and the organization has national guidelines that serve as translation standards.
Are you also providing interpreters for other languages for blood donation?
Canadian Blood Services started a language advisory committee more than a year ago to build a submission to our regulator, Health Canada, to allow American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters to accompany the blood donor through the entire blood donation process. Following the success of this submission, the language advisory committee is now working on a submission to Health Canada for interpreters of other languages. This will be submitted in early 2009.
Canadian Blood Services will likely take a similar approach to other language interpreters as OneMatch, by piloting in one or two languages in a pilot site.
