[00:00.00]In 1935, he journeyed
[00:04.04]to the Soviet Union to attend
[00:06.24]the International Physiological Congress.
[00:10.17]The Communist Parties of Canada
[00:12.69]and the United States
[00:14.11]had made arrangements for
[00:15.75]him to go. By this time,
[00:18.49]Bethune had become
[00:20.57]a member of the Communist Party
[00:22.32]of Canada. Returning to Canada,
[00:25.49]he was convinced, more than ever,
[00:28.34]that democratic societies needed to
[00:31.07]develop publicly financed health care
[00:34.90]for all of their citizens.
[00:37.63]Bethune had earlier set up
[00:40.24]a free medical clinic in Montreal.
[00:42.98]His conscience dictated that
[00:46.04]he should work for this goal.
[00:48.45]The Struggle of the Spanish Republic
[00:52.61]against Fascist aggression took him
[00:56.33]to Spain for a medical
[00:57.86]adventure and challenge.
[00:59.50]In Madrid, he pioneered a mobile
[01:02.67]blood transfusion unit in the field.
[01:06.06]He collected blood, which was
[01:09.35]then transported to where
[01:11.10]it was needed for the wounded
[01:12.63]along the 600 mile battlefront.
[01:15.15]These efforts were reported
[01:17.99]to have reduced deaths
[01:19.74]from war by up to 75%.
[01:22.04]Thousands of people owed
[01:26.19]their lives to Dr. Bethune.
[01:28.50]His bedside manner became legendary,
[01:31.34]and it was another
[01:33.19]measure of this man.
[01:34.95]He returned to Canada
[01:37.90]to go on a speaking tour
[01:39.87]to raise money for humanitarian efforts
[01:42.06]among the Spanish people.
[01:45.01]During this circuit of
[01:46.87]speaking engagements, Bethune elaborated
[01:50.16]eloquently on the desperate needs
[01:52.56]of these people. His ability
[01:55.19]to communicate effectively made
[01:57.38]this tour a success.
[01:59.89]His undisputed talents were
[02:03.07]attracting widespread attention.
[02:06.02]Dr.Bethune became the ultimate
[02:08.43]international volunteer to help
[02:11.05]less fortunate people whatever he could |