Background/Aim. Given that in each country students represent the most
progressive population group, as of 2001, the Blood Transfusion Institute of
Serbia (BTIS) has been carrying the program of voluntary blood donation
promotion and education of volunteers at the University of Belgrade (UB). In
2011, the BTIS intensified all activities at the UB. The aim of this study
was to present activities performed from 2001 at the Blood Donors` Motivation
Department (DMD) of the BTIS related with increasing the level of awareness
on voluntary blood donation in the Belgrade students` population, enhancing
their motivation to become voluntary blood donors (VBDs), increasing the
number of blood donations at faculties of the UB, and increasing the number
of blood donations in the UB students population compared with the total
number of blood units collected by BTIS in Belgrade, with the emphasis on the
year 2013. Methods. Initially, the applied methodology was based on
encouraging students to donate blood through discussions and preparatory
lectures, followed by organized blood drives. Appropriate selection of
volunteers at each faculty was crucial. Besides their recognisable identity,
they had to have remarkable communication skills and ability to positivly
affect persons in their environment. The applied principle was based on
retention of volunteers all through the final academic year, with the
inclusion of new volunteers each year and 1,000 preparatory lectures on the
annual basis. The activities were realized using two Facebook profiles, SMS
messages and continuous notification of the public through the media.
Results. There was an increase in the average number of students in blood
drives at the faculties from 2011, when the average number of the students
per blood drive was 39, followed by 43 in 2012 and 46 in 2013. The number of
students who donated blood in 2013 increased by 21.3% compared with 2012
data. Conclusion. The applied concept highly contributed to generation and
retention of future VBDs willing to regularly donate blood in the coming
years, with a minimum risk of transmission of transfusion transmissible
diseases markers.
Correlation of Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 Viral Load with Disease Severity and Prolonged Viral Shedding in Children
