Save a life for a chance to win a scholarship

Published: May 23, 2025

With the Assignment Saving Lives Scholarship Program, recruit donors to win up to $9000 toward your 2025-2026 tuition

Are you starting or continuing post-secondary studies in the 2025-2026 school year? You can help us recruit donors this summer, for a chance to win up to $9000 in scholarship prizes.

Assignment Saving Lives is open to students across Canada except Quebec residents. The contest period begins June 3, 2025, but you have until July 2, 2025 to register and July 9 to finish the online orientation. The contest period ends August 30, 2025.

How do I get started?

Step 1: Check out the Assignment Saving Lives page and decide if you’d like to recruit donors of blood components (blood, plasma and platelets) or stem cells, or if you’d like to compete in both contests. You can also contact assignment@blood.ca with questions.

You can recruit donors close to home, or across the country outside Quebec. Anyone over age 17 may be eligible to donate blood, plasma or platelets, but the stem cell registry is only open to those aged 17-35.

Step 2: Click “Register here” at the bottom of the Assignment Saving Lives page. It takes less than a minute to register to compete.

Step 3: You will receive a link to training videos, with details about how the program works and how to recruit. We encourage you to finish this online training before the program start date, but you have until July 9. We’ll also give you access to materials and messaging to help you with recruiting in-person or online.

Step 4: Start recruiting! For those recruiting donors of blood components, you’ll be assigned a team ID. When your recruits use that ID to book to donate between June 2 and August 30, inclusive, they will count toward your contest total (as long as they attend their appointments). Your recruits are counted just once, even if they donate multiple times during the contest period.

Recruiting for the stem cell registry? You’ll get registration kits with QR codes. Eligible people who register with your kits and codes are added to your contest total.

Note that a recruit may not be matched to a patient to donate stem cells for months or years, if ever. Joining the registry signals a willingness to donate if matched, as a life may depend on it.

How do I win?

Bottom line: the more people you recruit, the better your odds of winning. Up to 48 scholarships will be awarded, between various prizes for top recruiters and others awarded by random draw. Links to the full contest rules (with more info about prize amounts) are available on the Assignment Saving Lives page.

Some prizes are for top recruiters of new donors — people booking and keeping their first appointment to donate blood, plasma or platelets at one of our centres.

Did you know we are also working to build a more diverse donor base? Learn more about why. Your recruits of all backgrounds will help us provide the best care for all patients in need.

Meet the top Assignment Saving Lives recruiter from last year

Woman standing holding a blood drop sign — *Sarah Kolman recruited donors and won a scholarship through the Assignment Saving Lives Scholarship Program*

Regina’s Sarah Kolman understood the assignment – not only did she recruit the most new donors and second most unique donors in her region, she recruited the most new donors in the country, winning $4,000 towards her tuition.

Sarah learned about Assignment Saving Lives from an ad at her local donor centre. She’s been a regular blood donor since she turned 17, the minimum age for donating blood. As a biomedical sciences student at the University of Saskatchewan, she thought this was a perfect way to earn scholarships while helping people.

“The scholarships helped a lot, and I used all of it towards my education and degree,” said Sarah. “Tuition and equipment costs for the program is quite high and I plan to go to medical school after. Thanks to the $4,000, I didn’t have to work while studying and worry about finances.”

Recruiting donors was easier than expected. Sarah started recruiting friends and family then realized she had plenty of potential donors at her summer job, being a lifeguard.

“I engaged with co-workers who never donated before. I set them up on the GiveBlood app and they found it so easy, they continued to donate after the program ended. Then they started recruiting their friends. At the end, I recruited 40 new donors.”

Her advice for this year’s participants?

“Stick with it, it’s so rewarding. I remember feeling stressed, but just knowing you’re doing a good thing, no matter the results make it worth it.”

Inspired to take the plunge? Visit the Assignment Saving Lives page to register and start your summer of recruitment. And check out the links below to learn more about the stem cell registry and blood and plasma donation. You can share these with your recruits, too! Together, we are Canada’s Lifeline.