The most beautiful gift, at times, lies in the smallest of gestures: whoever gives blood saves life. For this reason Bristol Myers Squibb has donated a blood bank to the Italian Red Cross (CRI). The vehicle today and tomorrow will be in piazzale dell’Industria in Rome where the employees of the Bms and the residents of the area can perform this act of generosity. The initiative is part of the national campaign of the CRI ‘Donate to you back’, carried out with the unconditional contribution of Bms, to raise awareness on blood donation. “It is an act of solidarity, which brings us closer to the community and to patients who need transfusions to live”, say from Bms.
In Italy in 2021 – a note reads – the donors were over one million and 650 thousand (1,653,268), an increase compared to 2020. But this figure is still lower than in the pre-Covid period (-1.8% compared to 2019). In other words, the downward trend that has lasted for ten years is confirmed. Compared to 2012, the donor population decreased by about 5% and new donors by almost 10% (-9.6%). Not only. The numbers underline the progressive aging of those who choose to perform this act of generosity, which is not counterbalanced by an adequate generational change. New donors under 45 have decreased by 24% in 10 years.
“Donation is important, our blood regenerates and gives new lymph to the body, while for the one collected it begins a new path and returns to the movement to reach those who need it most thanks to the generosity of voluntary donors – says Emma Charles, General manager Bms Italia -. This year the initiative is aimed not only at employees of the Bms headquarters in Rome, but also at citizens who live near our office in piazzale dell’Industria and anyone in Italy who wants to go to the nearest Red Cross headquarters. In this way, the employees of Bristol Myers Squibb concretize the company’s values. Blood donation is an act of strong responsibility, which allows us to be close to the community and to patients who need transfusions to live “.
“As a world-leading biopharmaceutical company – continues Emma Charles – we are aware of our responsibility to take care of the health of patients, employees and the community. For the second consecutive year, we support the Red Cross ‘Give You Back’ campaign Italiana to continue to promote the dissemination of the culture of donation throughout the territory. We are proud to be able to create valuable collaborations with the world of volunteering “.
The Sars-CoV-2 pandemic – the note continues – has hit the transfusion system hard and the average age of donors is increasingly advanced. In the last decade those aged between 18 and 45 have gone from 1,089,510 in 2012 (63% of the total) to 866,112 (52%) in 2021. Also in this age group, new donors have decreased by 24 % in a decade. On the other hand, people over 46 who decide to donate have increased from 650,202 to 787,156 in the period 2012-2021.
“Despite the great global humanitarian challenges that keep us busy, we have never stopped conveying fundamental gestures such as blood donation, which is a limited and indispensable resource in first aid facilities, in surgery and in the treatment of many cancer diseases. haematological – explains Francesco Rocca, president of the Italian Red Cross and of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent (Ifrc) -. In particular, we ask for an effort from young people, who are the engine of change and whose example can be contagious for their peers. National data, in fact, show that the average age of donors is increasing, while those between 18 and 30 years are scarce. A trend to be reversed, because if we want to increase the amount of donations it is essential to attract the new generations with targeted awareness campaigns such as ‘Donate to you back’ and to increase the culture of giving through the communication channels most used by young people “.
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