The participants in the donor marathon have given more than 430 litres of blood

The federal corporate donor marathon “Kindle Your Heart!” took place in 26 largest Russian cities on April 20—23. The marathon was organised by NOMOS-BANK with the support of the Federal Medical and Biological Agency and the “Gift of Life” Foundation. More than 1,100 people have taken part in the campaign that was held on April 14—23, 2010. They have donated over 430 litres of blood.

The events had a special format — NOMOS-BANK invited to participate in the marathon employees of enterprises and companies that are the Bank’s clients, as well as mass media representatives. As a result, 725 people from 175 companies became donors in addition to the Bank’s employees.

Organising “Kindle Your Heart!” marathon, we pursued two goals, — explained NOMOS-BANK’s Vice President Valeriy Zinchenko. — The most important task was to gather blood for those who need blood transfusion, among whom there are many children. But we also believe that it is important to draw the attention of the entire society to the issue of corporate donorship. We hope that during the next campaign we will be able to expand the list of participating companies and to increase the number of donors“.

International experience shows that corporate donorship is one of the most efficient means to meet the demand in donor blood.

The issue of blood and blood components donorship is a key challenge facing Russia’s domestic healthcare system, and, as a consequence, for the state as a whole. Donor blood is the only source of life for millions of patients with serious illnesses, as well as for victims of accidents and catastrophes.

is facing a severe shortage of donors. The statistical data of the Blood Service suggest that in order to meet the need in blood the number of donors shall be 25 or more out of every 1,000 people. The average ratio in now is 13 donors per 1,000, in sharp contrast to Europe (40 per 1,000) and the United States (60 per 1,000).

The federal corporate donor marathon “Kindle Your Heart!” has taken place in the following Russian cities: Moscow, Saint-Petersburg, Barnaul, Volgograd, Voronezh, Yekaterinburg, Izhevsk, Irkutsk, Kazan, Kaliningrad, Krasnodar, Krasnokamensk, Krasnoyarsk, Nizhniy Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Perm, Rostov-on-Don, Samara, Saratov, Taganrog, Tomsk, Ulyanovsk, Khabarovsk, Chelyabinsk, Yaroslavl.