In search of Red Gold - Rotaract blood drive

Blood is an invaluable resource. Each year in Finland, there is around 50,00 surgical patients, accident victims, cancer patients, and prematurely born babies, among others, who are in need of blood products. Blood cannot yet be artificially produced, nor stored for very long, so all of it has to come from donors on a daily basis. The good thing is that one donation can help up to three recipients.

We at Rotaract Oulu decided to get involved on the topic and encourage repeated blood donations. Luckily for us, Red Cross had already established a program called BloodGroups. A BloodGroup makes it easier for new people to donate, and it can help existing donors give blood more often. Donating becomes more fun with work colleagues, schoolmates, or friends. Finnish Red Cross has a simple guide on how to start a BloodGroup. New groups receive a goodie bag with gifts, as well as a 'Blood Service Certificate of Honour' from Red Cross, once the group donates 10 times each calendar year.




A month ago, we established our Blood Group ROTARACT OULU, and booked a group appointment. Our visit lasted about an hour, and it included filling out a form, and giving a short interview. Oulu Blood Service Center has warmly welcomed us, and we are grateful to their lovely staff for the important work they do.

Our aim is to scale donation efforts further, by having a Rotaract blood drive sometime in March, with the goal to have as many Rotaractors across Finland donate blood during the week. If other Rotaract clubs establish their own BloodGroups, we can nurture a spirit of friendly competition, and make donating blood a common Rotaract activity.

Want to donate?

Everything you need is found at www.bloodservice.fi. There is a donor's online test that you can do to know if you are eligible to donate. On our excursion, we learned it is useful to know beforehand if you have been to a country with a malaria risk - and you can check which ones those are on the risk maps for western and eastern hemispheres.

If your blood type is O negative (O-). your blood is needed at all times. O- is what hospitals use to help any arriving emergency patients whose blood type is unknown. If you are unaware of your blood type, you can find it out once you donate.

At the time of writing, there is also a high need for donors of African origin, as there is a growing population and number of patients of African origin in Finland. 

Donors have to wait 2-3 months before being allowed to donate again, but the BloodGroups can always grow - so we all can spread the word in the meantime.