Blood drive – April 2022

Blood is provided by volunteers who donate it as a way of helping the sick and even saving lives. Blood is an irreplaceable part of the medical system, which only people can provide for each other and we may all find ourselves in the situation where we need to receive blood someday.

As part of our school’s annual Health Week, students over the age of 18 learned about the importance of blood donation and were invited to participate in donating blood themselves. On 1st April the 30 students who decided to donate blood travelled by bus to Zavod za transfuzijsko medicino (The Blood Transfusion Centre of Slovenia). We were accompanied by Mr Nejc Marinič, a teacher from our school.

Upon arrival, we were required to fill in a questionnaire regarding some basic medical information in order to make sure we are eligible to donate blood and that the donation is not hazardous to our health. A sample of blood was also taken in order to determine our blood type, haemoglobin levels and to make sure we don’t have any blood-borne diseases. The blood drawing procedure in itself, takes about 5-10 minutes.

Overall, I found it to be a quite a pleasant experience. I’m not afraid of needles, but some of my schoolmates are, and they said that even they felt alright as the people drawing blood made sure they felt safe.

In Slovenia, someone needs blood every five minutes. About 400 people would have to donate blood every day to meet that demand. That is why I decided to participate in donating blood. I think that it’s important to show solidarity and compassion in order to help other people in any way we can, as we all depend on each other in difficult times.

Aleksandra Kostić