Thirty BOV employees donated blood during the bank’s first blood donation drive for 2022, held on December 2 in collaboration with the National Blood Transfusion Services.
Tony Micallef, practice nurse – donor liaison for the National Blood Transfusion Service, thanked the BOV management and the employees for their generous response to donating blood regularly.
“Presently, hundreds of patients are being hospitalised and waiting to receive blood transfusions after repeated chemotherapy sessions. Others are being operated by emergency, while others are waiting to undergo planned surgery before Christmas. Because of this, it is important to stress the importance of regular blood donation. The reality is that without adequate blood supplies, cancer patient will have to wait for days to receive the much-needed blood transfusions, while operations have to be cancelled, something that nobody wants to experience! Thanks to such donors, we avoid the bitter consequences of insufficient blood supplies including loss of lives,” Micallef said.
Charles Azzopardi, head of CSR at BOV said. “It is truly heart-warming for us to be able to organise another blood drive for our people, after an absence of two years due to the pandemic.
He added that for the bank, these events constitute an opportunity to encourage people to donate “the gift of life” selflessly but, at the same time, create awareness about it.
“Such initiatives tie in seamlessly with the bank’s vision to act as a socially responsible organisation in line with our ESG principles. Being one of Malta’s major commercial entities, we firmly believe in providing our local society with useful resources, and blood donations are vital for those who face unfortunate experiences which are life-threatening.”
To donate blood, one may visit the National Blood Transfusion Service in Guardamangia, open seven days a week between 8 am and 6 pm. Like BOV, groups and organisations may also organise a blood donation drive at their place of work.
By donating blood, one’s health is not affected. Before every blood donation, a medical check-up is carried out to determine whether a person is fit enough and eligible to donate blood. Eligible male donors aged from 18 to 65 may donate blood at least once every three months, while females may donate every four months (every three months following menopause). Safety measures are in place to adhere to COVID-19 regulations.
For more information, visit www.blood.gov.mt, check out www.facebook.com/bloodmalta, or call on 8007 4313 or 7930 7307.