Another round of the Donate Blood with the Rector iniciative, also known as Blue is Good, will take place during the traditional Academic Week celebrating the 75th anniversary of its reopening in February 1946. The goal of the initiative is to support and promote free blood donation for the tenth year in a row, so much more needed this year. At the same time the initiative will conclude the Duel of Faculties in Free Blood Donation, which was conceived by the students of the Faculty of Health Sciences.
During this weeklong event, the rector invites all Palacký University students and employees to come and donate the most valuable thing they have – their blood. “I am very pleased that more and more of our students and staff decide to donate blood every year. Even in 2020 when we started teaching classes remotely, more people donated blood in Olomouc than a year earlier, and I believe that this year will not be different,” the Rector of Palacký University Jaroslav Miller said with appreciation.
Ten Years of University Blood Donation
Every student or employee of Palacký University who decides to donate blood at the Transfusion Centre of the Olomouc University Hospital in the week from 15 to 19 February should register by e-mail at daruj@upol.cz. “We will specify with every donor the day and time when he/she can come to donate blood. We have a whole week blocked for donors from Palacký University and we put together the weekly schedule of donors with the Transfusion Centre taking into consideration the epidemiological measures,” said Ondřej Martínek from the University Communication Office. “In addition to the feel-good factor, all donors will receive a small gift from UPoint and the University Hospital.
Not Only in Olomouc but Also in the Rest of the Czech Republic
Recently, the university wants to address donors outside of Olomouc. “Since the situation is more complicated this year we appeal to donate blood not only in Olomouc but also at all transfusion centres in the country. Every student or employee who will donate blood outside of Olomouc and send us a photo to daruj@upol.cz or post it on instagram with a hashtag #darujkrevsrektor anytime from 15 to 19 February will receive a small gift from the university by mail,” added Marek Jukl from the Faculty of Science at Palacký University who is also the President of the Czech Red Cross.
The Olomouc University Hospital recorded a total of 954 “university” blood donations in 2020. There were 60 more donations compared to year 2019. Since 2014, when we started tracking blood donations, there have been a total of 4533 donations, which corresponds to more than two thousand liters of blood or blood plasma. The event is organized by Palacký University in cooperation with the Olomouc University Hospital, the Transfusion Centre and the 470 ml initiative.
For more information visit www.daruj.upol.cz.
The Duel of Faculties in Blood Donation Culminates
The Duel of Faculties in Free Blood Donation will culminate during the Academic Week about the same time as the Rector’s initiative Blue is Good. The students of the Faculty of Health Sciences who organized the Duel of Faculties in the winter semester adopted the slogan “Roll up the Sleeve” for their initiative. The university students and employees, who participated in the initiative, donated 89 litres of blood.
“The faculties compete in two categories. The Faculty of Arts currently leads with the largest volume of donated blood. The second category takes into account the number of participating students at individual faculties and their percentage represented in the competition. Our Faculty of the Health Sciences leads in the second category followed by the Medical Faculty and the Faculty of Physical Culture,” said Simona Konečná, one of the organizers, adding that they also prepared two quizzes for the participants educating them on the subject of blood. The participants took a great interest in both of them and the organizers recorded that 300 donors participated in the second quiz.
The Duel of Faculties will end on February 21. Donors can still sign up. They have to fill up a form, have it confirmed at their collection centre and drop it of in one of the collection boxes located at all faculties, and at the Transfusion Centre of the Olomouc University Hospital. After the forms are reviewed and counted, the organizers will announce the winners and after deliberation with the deans, the winning faculties will be awarded prizes. There will also be a prize draw from among the participants for prizes from sponsors. “By donating blood, you can help those who have been a little less fortunate, and at the same time it will make your day. If you do not feel like going to donate yourself, make a pact with your classmates or colleagues and go to a collection center to fight for your faculty together,” said Simona Konečná inviting other potential donors to participate.
For more information on the Duel of Faculties go here.