BLOOD BOUND

Listening to volunteers of blood donation

by Tzoumaka Anastasia

Serious diseases like cancer, are often followed by a great deal of other obstacles, including the extremely limited amounts of available blood, which is necessary to perform the surgeries needed, to help the patients recover. Therefore, it is of major importance for every one of us to donate blood and to do our part in assisting the patients and the medical health professionals, who fight tirelessly to save people. In order to understand the importance of the topic better, I spoke with Sophia and Savvas, members of a blood donating organization located in Ptolemaida, Greece. Below, we can find these very interesting interviews.

Sophia’s Interview

I: Sophia, when did you decide to donate blood for the first time and how long did you consider it before actually going through with it?

S: “I actually considered it for the first time a year ago, when the most recent blood donation took place, but I wasn’t yet an adult, so I didn’t have the ability to do it, as it isn’t generally permitted. But when I learnt about the next donation event and I was finally of legal age, I decided I needed to do it and I didn’t have to think twice about it”.

I: How would you describe your feelings before, during and after the procedure?

S: “In all the three circumstances you referred to, my feelings were pretty much the same. So, before the donation, I wasn’t anxious or fearful, because I don’t generally fear needles or doctors and I felt happy, both before and after giving blood.”

I: How would you describe the treatment you received from the members of the association and the medical staff, regarding it as your first experience with blood donation?

S : “The members of the association were surprised at first, as I just turned 18, but they were pleasantly surprised and told me that it was great that a new member joined the club. They first thought that I came because of my dad, as he has been a member there for years, but it was my personal desire to do it. As for the medical staff, the doctor told me bravo for my decision and the nurses were very supportive.”

I: How did you first hear about this blood giving organization and how do you feel about their cause?

S: “I heard about it first from my father, as he was a member of the club for many years and later he also became the president, so you know it’s not only the posters they make, that inform you about the association. For their cause, I feel grateful, because with this initiative a whole village donates blood and I think that we are the first village in the region to develop something like this. So, I feel that we have the ability to save lives and bring happiness to people and I wanted personally to do the same.”

I: Did you share the information and feelings you had about your first experience with your friends and if you did, what was their feedback?

S: “Yes, I described my experience to my two closest friends, like the papers I had to fill and the medical exams I took in order to donate blood and they said that they felt proud for me and happy.”

I: How would you describe the percentages of the organization, regarding the participation of young people and women in the initiative?

S: “I would say that around 70% of the members are men and 30% women. As for young people, there weren’t a lot of people of my age group, I only saw a 19 year old guy the day I went to donate. Also, about the 20-30 year olds, there are many of them, but the greatest percentage consists of 40 years old and above.”

I: So you, as a young girl, would you suggest some ways to get more women and youngsters to participate?

S: “A good way, in my opinion, would be to talk to them and educate them about the benefits of volunteering and also explain to them how important their contribution to the cause would be, as the population of our village is getting older, meaning that because of the rule that you can’t donate blood if you are above 65 years old, only the young people could help to support the initiative.”

I: Okay, for the last question, I would like to ask you if you think that you gained something new about the procedure or if you learnt things you didn’t know before?

S: “I learnt about how strict the requirements of giving blood are, because they tell you the exact rules of who can and who cannot participate, and I thought there were a great number of them. I don’t find them wrong, but I learnt new criteria, as I knew about the restrictions they have concerning blood transmitted diseases, like AIDS, syphilis or hepatitis, but I hadn’t heard about some others.”

I : Okay, thank you so much for your participation!

Savvas’s Interview

I : For the first question, I wanted to ask you when was the association founded first, where is it facilitated and what was the motive for beginning creating this club?

S: “Our blood giving association was founded in 2015, it is based in our village, called Foufas, near the city of Ptolemaida in Greece and the motive for beginning was a simple conversation among friends, where we decided to start donating blood. Also, a common friend of ours was in need of blood and we learnt that the necessary blood for surgeries is very difficult to find, so we decided to help.”

I: Okay, so could you tell what the requirements are for a person, in order to be able to donate blood?

S: “Concerning the procedure itself, it’s necessary to bring your social security number and your I.D and of course you need to be healthy. More specifically, it’s important that you don’t take medication for serious health issues and not to be affected by AIDS, syphilis and hepatitis. You must be above 50 kilos and to have a normal blood pressure, because they conduct medical exams before the procedure. In addition, you have the ability to donate blood until a certain age limit, 55-60 years old, depending on your health condition.”

I: Can you tell us some ways that you use to promote your association?

S: “We usually put up some posters in our village and in nearby cities and we organize events in which doctors inform people about blood giving, because many individuals don’t have the knowledge about these things and as a result they are hesitant to go through with it. We also have given interviews in local and national channels, like West and ERT and we post on our social media all the events that are being organized and information about the blood donations.

I: Okay, what could you tell me about the diseases that affect the patients you send the blood to?

S: The greatest percentage goes to cancer patients, but it’s also directed to renal failure cases. And we also organize the donations when something urgent comes up. For example, when the train accident at Tempi took place, we sent blood immediately for the victims.”

I: Concerning the health professionals, would you say that they provide you with adequate support in these procedures?

S: “Yes, they have helped a lot from the start, each one of them with the knowledge they offer us. For example, an orthopedic and an urologist came to educate the people in our village about the benefits of donating blood and now we also think that it would be a great help for the women in our team to bring a gynecologist, in order to perform the necessary preventive exams for free. In addition, we have a great number of staff trained in first aid, and as for the procedure of donating blood, we collaborate with the same people each time, including our cardiologist, 2 nurses, a blood donation supervisor, who is responsible for all the necessary papers and of course a paramedic with an ambulance, in case of an emergency.”

I: So, moving to a more personal level, what was your personal motive for beginning donating blood?

S: “For me, it was the help I wanted to offer to people.”

I: Would you say that by participating in the organization you learnt some things about the procedure and the medical aspects of donating blood that you didn’t know before?

S: Of course. For example, I learnt about how the blood is being analyzed after the procedure, how it is decided if it’s suitable for donating and to what kind of patients it’s used for.”

I: How did you decide to become the president of the association and how would you evaluate this experience?

S:“I had a strong desire to try harder for the improvement of the organization and I was glad that I was elected, as that proves the trust that people have on me.”

I: Have you shared your experience about the blood donation and the association with your family and friends and what was their feedback?

S: “Yes, I have shared some information and my feelings with them and they were surprised and very eager to try it themselves.”

I: Okay, that’s all, thank you for agreeing to this interview!

By speaking with these two people, I gained a very good insight about the experience of donating blood and I left with a content feeling, knowing that there is such a willingness in humans to help each other, whenever it’s needed. The fact that a very small village, with a population of only 300 people, has achieved such a great percentage of blood donors, is an inspiration for all of us to remind ourselves that offering to others isn’t something difficult that requires hard work, but only our good will and a little bit of our time. Blood donation is one of the greatest forms of taking care of our fellow humans and I strongly believe that we should all at least give it a try!