Retired RCMP Insp. Ted Smith, 76, gave blood for the 300th time on Friday during a downtown Nanaimo blood drive. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Jordan Davidson

it's in you to give

‘Give that gift of life:’ retired Mountie hopes to inspire with 300th blood donation in Nanaimo

Nov 21, 2025 | 1:48 PM

NANAIMO — A former Vancouver Island RCMP officer reached an impressive milestone in his lifelong effort of giving back to his community any way he can.

Retired RCMP Insp. Ted Smith was at Nanaimo’s Vancouver Island Conference Centre on Friday, Nov. 21, flanked by fellow officers to give blood for the 300th time at a Canadian Blood Services mobile clinic.

Humble by nature, Smith, 76, hopes he can bring some attention to the importance of donating blood.

“I’ve been lucky enough to donate blood very regularly since I turned 18, and I’m hoping with this exposure…that we’re going to get a chance to maybe encourage more people to come on out, roll up their sleeves and give that gift of life.”

Nov. 21 also marked the 75th anniversary of the B.C. RCMP, with “Ted’s Red Serge Challenge” inviting all current and former RCMP officers and their families to make 75 blood donations on Friday, with multiple officers giving blood alongside Smith, as well as at a mobile donor clinic in Victoria happening at the same time.

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He said he was inspired to give back at an early age by his mother, a Canadian Red Cross nurse during World War II.

Once returning from overseas, she continued working as a nurse, with Smith and his two sisters helping to set up blood donor clinics as children.

“She had a lot of exposure to blood donations, and quite often they were very, very frequent donations. We always thought it was kind of neat…I was lucky to be in places where I could give very regularly from the age of 18 to now, when I’m age 76, and I hope to keep on giving.”

Canadian Blood Services does not have an age cut-off limit for blood donations, as long as you are over the age of 17 and are in good health.

Smith describes having his blood drawn as a very similar feeling to getting a flu or COVID-19 shot, hoping to quash any fears that might prevent someone from donating.

“Like a mosquito bite, you can kind of feel it, but it doesn’t hurt, you just know the needle is there, and completely painless after that. You just kind of sit there for five, ten, fifteen minutes, and then after that, you get cookies. The best part.”

Canadian Blood Services is currently in the middle of its ‘Fall Get Together’ national campaign, encouraging Canadians to celebrate the power of giving and donating blood together.

More information about donating blood can be found here at blood.ca.

Smith was joined by multiple members of the RCMP who also donated blood, some for the first time. He’s pictured here with Nanaimo RCMP Supt.Eric Rochette and Cst. Sherri Wade. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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