“True heroes donate!” blood drive
Supporters of the ‘’Give energy for life'' initiative thanked blood donors and all other supporters contributing to the blood supply to provide sufficient and suitable amounts of blood at a traditional press conference held on Slovenian Blood Donor Day, 4 June. They are using this year’s “True heroes donate!” initiative to spread a message about noble values such as humaneness, solidarity and humanity among the general public and to emphasise how important giving blood is for uninterrupted functioning of public healthcare. Blood donors and members of the Pusti Grad Šoštanj scout group, which commemorated its sixtieth anniversary by holding a blood drive, are using their positive example to tell us who today’s real heroes are, saving lives in the real world. More than 120 blood donors participated in the drive. This meant that the commendable goal of collecting sixty litres of blood was achieved.
To satisfy daily needs for blood in Slovenia, we need between 350 and four hundred blood donors every working day. As Polonca Mali, medical director of the Slovenian Blood Transfusion Centre, emphasised: “It cannot be assumed that we always have enough safe and suitable blood for all blood types. It is therefore extremely important that we have enough blood donors willing to donate blood. To ensure responsible handling of blood and matching with the needs for blood, it is very important that blood donors respond when we need them – we are referring to ‘the right blood donors at the right time’.”
Blood remains an irreplaceable resource for patients and is the most valuable thing you can donate. This is why the initiators of the “Donate energy for life” drive are sincerely grateful to all blood donors giving whole blood, plasma or platelets. “Blood drives take place at transfusion centres and at various public locations. The Slovenian Red Cross holds blood drives across Slovenia throughout the year almost every working day through its regional associations,” explained Alojz Kovačič, president of the Slovenian Red Cross. This is why cooperation with the local and broader community in the field is so important. A network of volunteers and organisers is dedicated to holding blood drives and motivating blood donors to ensure suitable amounts of safe blood for all patients that need it.
A broader campaign to inform the public would not be possible without the support of a socially responsible company. At the Petrol Group’s initiative, the blood drive “Give energy for life” covering all of Slovenia was started nine years ago. With the cooperation of the Slovenian Blood Transfusion Centre (ZTM) and the Slovenian Red Cross, it is using modern approaches to successfully promote the importance of donating blood, the great importance of regular and new blood donors, and the responsiveness of blood donors regarding needs and the blood supply, thus contributing to an increase in blood donor numbers. ”The blood drive results are exceeding our expectations. By working together, we have attracted more than 83,000 new blood donors in the last eight years, from 2011 to 2018, more than nine thousand of those in the last year,” said Aleksander Salkič, head of corporate communications at Petrol. He also stated that this campaign is “in their blood”.
Aleksander Salkič, director of corporate communications at Petrol.
This year’s drive is running under the slogan “True heroes donate!” Its purpose is to promote donating blood and express gratitude to everyone donating blood. Its main goal is to inspire young people and show them that blood donors are the real heroes of modern times, saving lives in the real world.
This year’s “Give energy for life” press event was held on 4 June, when we celebrate Slovenian Blood Donor Day. It took place in Šoštanj and was combined with a blood drive held by the Pusti Grad Šoštanj scout group and their supporters, who decided to commemorate their sixtieth anniversary with this humanitarian gesture. They were very successful: more than 120 blood donors gave blood during the drive. This meant that they achieved their commendable goal: to collect sixty litres of blood. “Scouts, like blood donors, personify positive values – humaneness, solidarity and humanity – and they take care of nature and live a healthy life. In this way, they are creating a better world and are always willing to help,” said Eva Bolha, head of the Slovenian Scout Association.
Donating blood has always been widespread and has a long tradition in the Šalek Valley. This was proven again today. The same thing is proven every day by regular and new blood donors, the true heroes of our time, whose donated blood is making treatments possible and even saving lives.
Enrolling blood donors in an online blood donor database
Needs for blood and blood types are constantly changing. This is why we are diligently monitoring our blood supply. By taking the blood supply and needs for certain blood types into account, we invite blood donors to give blood. To rapidly adapt to changes, we need to have blood donors available that can come and donate blood when we need them. This is made possible by the online blood donor database, which you can enrol in here.
The Can I donate? app
You can use the web app on the www.daruj-kri.si website and the Slovenian Blood Transfusion Centre’s website to quickly and reliably check whether you meet the conditions to donate blood. The application’s purpose is to protect your health and the recipient's health, and to spare you any unnecessary travel.
Blood donors can also donate blood at all blood collection sites during regular blood drives or during transfusion services’ working hours. We encourage blood donors to check the blood supply by blood type or enrol in the blood donor database to help establish an optimal blood supply.
Up-to-date information on supply and needs by blood type are available every day at www.daruj-kri.si and on the Slovenian Blood Transfusion Centre’s website. The graphic representation of blood in vials shows whether the blood supply by individual blood type is sufficient.
