Safe Blood Starts with Me - libdoc.who.int - World Health Organization

marquee on “how do we testblood?”, “how do we collectblood?” and “who can be a bloodor bone marrow donor?” In all,817 donors gave blood in Katowiceand its regional blood banks withexcellent press, radio and TVcoverage.In downtown Lodz, citizens gaveblood in an ambulance and learntfrom talks and flyers theimportance of safe blood. Blooddonations in the Radom area werefilmed by local TV stations andbroadcast in the afternoon news.In Cracow, the Red CrossDemonstrations in the marqueeorganized a press conference withthe RBC employees, the voluntaryblood donors club, journalists,high school students and thegeneral public.Employees of Polish publictelevision gave blood at theNational Centre for TransfusionMedicine/Institute of Haematologyand Blood Transfusion, whichnaturally got good coverage.Before the event, the RBC inLublin asked all local radio and TVstations and newspapers tosupport campaigns to promotevoluntary blood donation and BTSactivities. Themessages weregleaned from anofficial letter fromWHO’s Director-General to the lateMrs FranciszkaCegielska, Poland’sMinister of Health.Editorials on thesubject werethereforeprepared,interviews with the employees ofthe RBC broadcast, and on 6 April,Lublin TV transmitted “Talk of theDay” with the Managing Directorof the Regional Centre.During the whole month of Aprilthe RBC in Kalisz ran acompetition for 40 high schoolscalled “The Vampiriade”, duringwhich 835 students donated blood.The project aimed to promote“voluntary blood donation” andspread awareness of how uniqueand irreplaceable blood is, andhow safe it is to donate blood inPoland. Local businesses providedvaluable prizes (TVs, CD players,sporting equipment), and theevent led to many studentsbecoming regular blood donors.Cracow organized 13 mobilecollections under the banners“Safe Blood Starts with Me” and“Blood Saves Life” which attracted419 donations. Two collectionsorganized in high schools for thefirst time saw 154 graduatingstudents give blood. At the end ofApril, the RBC employees tookpart in a two-hour live radioprogramme on safe blood,answering many calls from thepublic.The success of the mobile bloodcollections in Bialystok—aselsewhere in Poland—can beattributed in part to mediasupport and lectures given prior tothe event advertising voluntaryblood donation. Together with thehospital blood banks, informationmaterials were distributed andblood collection sessions held atuniversities, high schools,manufacturing companies, etc. bythe RBC and a lecture on “Safeblood and modern transfusionmedicine” delivered to nurses. Insmall towns visited by RegionalCentre employees for the firsttime, special posters weredisplayed.In townThe National Blood TransfusionCentre/Institute of Haematologyand Blood Transfusion in Warsawjoined with a city businesssponsor to organize a blood72 ▲ WORLD HEALTH DAY ▼ SAFE BLOOD STARTS WITH ME