Donating blood can save up to four lives, but the fear of a needle and the lack of information still prevent many people from making this gesture of solidarity. “In this period of the pandemic, people have a certain fear of leaving home, which ended up influencing the decrease in the flow of donations,” said Andressa Oliveira, responsible for the Social Communication Center of the Paraná State Department of Health. She said donations were down 25% compared with the same period last year.
To meet the demand of some collection units in the south of Brazil’s Paraná state, at least 10 teams of volunteers from the Caleb Mission project of the Seventh-day Adventist Church decided to extend their hand or, rather, their arm. Donations have taken place during the month of July. To date, more than 115 people have participated in the initiative.
For Clodoaldo Petriu, 44, who made his donation at Hemobanco, there is a double benefit in the action taken. “It is a joy for me to know that I am helping someone because when I do good for others, it is good for me too,” said the four-time donator.
First-time blood donor Mayre Santana, 39, said, “It was a wonderful experience, to be really helping those in need. I left the clinic very moved by this solidarity action.”
Both donors are part of the same Caleb Mission team and made donations on different days. This respects the safety standards of the World Health Organization (WHO) to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Along with donating blood, volunteers also participate in several other social actions in order to help others.
This article was originally published on the South American Division’s Portuguese news site