A few years ago, journalist Camila Marques did a report on the Vida por Vidas project for the TV network for which she works. What she didn't know is that one day, her family would benefit from the topic on her agenda: blood donation.

Camila recently posted on her social media about the need for donors to save her father's life. And that's when, as a storyteller, she began to feel in her own life the difference a bag of blood makes.

For ten years, Ronald Sousa was Life for Life coordinator in São Luís, Maranhão, and today, he continues to be a donor. He learned of the publication and mobilized Adventist youth to respond to the request. He remembers when, in 2019, Camila was chosen by TV Mirante, an affiliate of Rede Globo, to cover an event of the project in partnership with Hemomar (blood center of Maranhão).

“I did this article a few years ago, and I didn't actually imagine that one day, I would need it,”

says Camila, remembering the episode. Her father, Carlito de Oliveira Lima, 63, needed to be hospitalized due to a kidney problem. With hospitalization, he ended up contaminated with other bacteria and needed to receive blood transfusions. Donations needed to be directed.

“For me, the project made all the difference because when I needed it, they reached out and helped save my father's life,”

says Camila. In all, 20 blood bags were donated directly to the elderly, who are still undergoing treatment.

Relevance and Purpose

Hemomar has maintained a partnership with the Adventist Church in the state for 15 years. According to Sousa, the contribution of volunteers occurs both in the capital and the cities of the interior. The campaigns are coordinated and have already collected around 100,000 blood bags during this period.

Pastor Carlos Campitelli took the Vida por Vidas project to Maranhão. At the time, he pastored a local church, but today, he leads Youth Ministry in eight South American countries. Now the mobilization is much greater. In 2021 alone, 126,805 volunteers in South America went to a collection point to make their donations. On average, each blood bag can help up to four people.

“Developing the Vida por Vidas project was a privilege,”

says Campitelli. For him, this reflects the position of the church in relation to the community, society, and also the public body. This makes young Adventists relevant in the environments in which they live, and they begin to have meaning and purpose in their lives. And this is not just about personal development but also a life of service to others.

In 2022 and 2023, the campaign theme is Blood Brothers and comes from the biblical concept that everyone is a brother (or sister) and should have love and care for one another.

“What unites us is this blood, which is now compatible for a situation of need and will make us linked forever as brothers,”

concludes the project leader.

Be a Donor

To participate in the Vida por Vidas project, all you need to do is meet the basic requirements on the website, look for your city's blood center, and schedule the donation. Mobilization can take place throughout the year, not just on specific occasions.