The Vancouver Sun from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada • 34

12 LOWER MAINLAND The Vancouver Sun, December 6, 1993 KELOWNA LET THERE BE LIGHTS Donors chip in for sick child Canadian Press KELOWNA Donors have already contributed nearly $7,000 to the fund for tiny Kayla Young who was born with a brain tumor six months ago and suffers seizures daily. "Donations are coming in very well," said Lieut. Ken Kimberley of the Salvation Army. "Kelowna is a very generous community." A community appeal was launched three weeks ago to raise the money needed to transport the family to Toronto for a specialized operation. Kimberley said parents Allen and Shannon Young are trying to stay in the background and avoid publicity as they decide how their daughter will be treated.

They will probably take her to Children's Hospital in Vancouver in January. Doctors there could refer her to Children's Hospital in Toronto where she most likely could get help. However, they might also decide to send her to Detroit, Kimberley said. The Youngs won't find out how long they have to stay in Toronto or Detroit until they get there, meaning it is difficult to estimate how much such a trip will cost, he said. BLOOD SUPPLY Red Cross changing uonor procedures GIVING BLOOD WILL take a little longer in the new year.

The Canadian Red Cross Society is changing the way it collects blood. The changes, to be phased in from January to March, are aimed at making the blood supply safer. Donors will have their temperature and blood pressure taken before giving blood. Instead of answering questions about their sexual habits on a form, they will be asked the questions by a nurse. Dr.

Louis Wadsworth, medical director of the Vancouver Blood Centre, said taking donors' temperatures will identify people who are coming down with colds or influenza but don't realize it. Checking blood pressure will catch people with high blood pressure, who might jeopardize their health by giving blood. The oral questioning may elicit more honest answers to questions such as the one that asks male donors if they have ever had sex with men. "It's more like taking a medical history," Wadsworth said. Donors won't have to answer the nurses verbally.

For privacy, they will reply by ticking boxes on a form. The changed routine is being introduced in Vancouver, Edmonton and London, Ont. By the middle of 1994, it will likely spread across the country. Wadsworth said the aim is to bring Canadian blood-collecting practices into line with superior practices used in the United States. "We're very grateful for the time the donors give and hope they'll bear with us." In addition to the changes donors will notice, Red Cross lab staff will keep more detailed records.

When blood products are cen-; trifuged, notes will be kept on which machine was used, when the product went in and when it came out. Wadsworth said this has nothing to do with screening for viruses, but will give auditing agencies more detailed information about Red Cross practices. i ii "TYimiWii -1- i ii mrn! iiMiliiriliiii mm i i in i. BILL KEAYVancouver Sun LIGHTING UP the West Vancouver shoreline near Dundarave Beach are among 73 Christmas trees which have been lit up for the festive season, gaily decorated trees admired by restaurateur Klaus Fuerniss. They are In the background, the Lions Gate bridge adds its twinkle to the night.

WASHINGTON STATE Guide Meridian identified as dangerous highway NORTHWEST residential and commercial as it pushes south past the communities of Lynden and Laurel. By the time it hits Bellis Fair Mall and connects with Interstate 5, the Guide Meridian is a frustrating tangle of access roads and retail signs competing for attention of passing motorists. At a recent public meeting in Laurel, Canadian motorists were blamed for passing stopped school buses and passing on the right shoulder. Canadian truckers hauling wood chips to the Georgia-Pacific Corp. pulp mill in Bellingham were accused of speeding.

Although accident statistics don't differentiate by nationality, state officials suspect Canadian drivers overall are no worse. "We're just as bad or worse as the visitors who come down," said traffic safety commission deputy direcNprtn Elricksen. In 1991 alone, intersection and driveway-related accidents on the Guide Meridian exceeded the average of all other state routes by 94 per cent. lations, such as not stopping for school buses or passing on the shoulders. "We're doing this to protect lives and property," Wareing said.

"I don't want to indicate Canadians are to blame or that they aren't welcome down here. But we all want to be safe on the roadway." He said American and Canadian motorists heading to and from the border can boost traffic on the Guide Meridian by up to 50 per cent on busy weekends. Part of the problem is that long lineups at the Douglas-Peace Arch border force motorists away from the Interstate 5 freeway and on to routes like the Guide Meridian a two-lane, uncontrolled-access route. "It creates a much more dangerous situation," Wareing said. "We even have people backing out on to the highway." The maximum speed is 50 mph on the Guide Meridian, 55-65 mph on the freeway.

The Guide Meridian begins innocently enough, rambling through bucolic dairy farms, but quickly becomes a zoning hodgepodge of Part of 'The Sun's continuing coverage of issuts in t)ie U.S. Pacific Northwest ofrelevame toBritislt Columbians LARRY PYNN Vancouver Sun WHATCOM COUNTY CANADIAN MOTORISTS are helping the Guide Meridian earn a reputation as one of Washington's most dangerous state highways. Canadians hit the state side, they seem to speed up," said Dave Wareing, chief of operations for the Whatcom County sheriffs office. "But we're not sure why." The Washington Traffic Safety Commission in Olympia has identified the Guide Meridian as one of the state's most dangerous highways. -V'' A five-year review of a 15-kilometre stretch south of the Aldergrove-Lynden border towards Bellis Fair Mall found 714 accidents 60 of them involving disabling injuries, including nine deaths.

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