Traditional Valentine's Blood Drop Launched in Slovakia
Bratislava, February 12 (TASR) – A traditional campaign dedicated to blood donation entitled Valentine’s Blood Drop was launched throughout Slovakia on Monday, TASR learnt from Silvia Kostelna of the Slovak Red Cross (SCK), which organised the campaign in cooperation with the Slovak National Transfusion Service.
The event’s main goal is to encourage young people to donate blood and attract as many first-time donors as possible.
People can join the campaign by donating blood at blood donation centres, in hospitals and in mobile blood donation centres throughout the country.
Over the past five years a total of 130,645 voluntary donors have joined the Valentine’s Blood Drop campaign, of which 23,420 donated blood for the first time. “This year is the 23rd time that the campaign has taken place. Its main aim is to attract and encourage people to stop for a while and spend some of their time for a good thing. Giving blood is so simple and at the same time so irreplaceable,” said SCK general secretary Zuzana Rosiarova.
Any healthy person aged between 18-60, and regular donors even until 65, can give blood. It takes between 5-15 minutes, with some 450 millilitres of blood taken. In order to give blood, donors mustn’t weigh less than 50 kilograms, they mustn’t be receiving treatment for any chronic disease, and woman mustn’t be menstruating or have given birth recently. People with Rh negative blood type are considered to be the most precious donors.
Valentine’s Blood Drop will run for five weeks until March 16.
