Interview

The growing interest of young people in social work is visible in many regions of Russia. High school, university students and graduates are willing to volunteer and get their first professional experience by helping others. Blood donation is one of the most honorable and popular areas of such social activity. This was told to us by Natalia Sidorova, head of the information and social support department for youth of the "Regional Youth Center" of the Kaluga Region.

For volunteers, the donor movement is not only participation in blood donation campaigns, but also a big school of social work. By entering into the donor path, the guys cultivate high moral principles, learn to manage socially significant projects. This was told to us by Marina Sheludko, head of the Volunteering Support Center of the Tula State Lev Tolstoy Pedagogical University.

The St. Petersburg student organization "Blood Drop" is a one-of-a-kind talent foundry for the volunteer movement of donors. They coordinate and inspire the efforts of like-minded people in many universities of St. Petersburg. Everyone who contacts them about blood donation receives support. The Curators of Blood Drop Anna Terentyeva and Aleksey Sevryugov told us more about the project.

Tatyana Alexandrovna Suslova, head of the Molecular Biology Diagnostics Department in the Chelyabinsk Regional Blood Transfusion Station. She became the best doctor of the Blood Service in the category «Doctor of the Clinical Diagnostic Laboratory» of the Blood Service Professional Excellence Competition 2020. Tatyana Alexandrovna is not only a practicing immunogeneticist, but also a theoretician: Tatyana Aleksandrovna shares her knowledge with students at the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and General Biology of Chelyabinsk State University. Among her many professional merits is the participation in the development of Chelyabinsk as one of the leading transplant centers in Russia.

The video clip with the hymn of the Sverdlovsk donors «We are with you of the same blood» and the «Team game» project with the football players of the Ural club became winners of the All-Russian Competition of Professional Skills by the Blood Service. Natalya Popkova, Deputy Chief Physician for Organizational and Methodological Work of the Blood Transfusion Station of the Sverdlovsk Region, Chief Freelance Transfusiologist of the Ministry of Health of the Sverdlovsk Region and the Urals Federal District, told about the work on projects, which unites sports, art and blood donation.

Regional institutions of the Blood Service are not afraid to experiment — they create volunteer structures, entrust young employees with responsible work to attract new partners and donors. One such example is the Youth Council, which was formed at the Khabarovsk Regional Blood Transfusion Station. The head physician of the station Oksana Valerievna Kozhemyako told us about several successful projects of the Council, which became laureates of the All-Russian competition of professional skills of the Blood Service.

A creative project «5 principles of safe blood donation» informs donors about various aspects of regular donation of the Blood Center of the Leningrad Region. It took the Best Booklet category in the Not to Miss the Important nomination of the Blood Service professional skill competition. Lyubov Leonova pr-manager of the Blood center answered the questions about this project.

Blood transfusion stations are increasingly and more confidently taking on the production of social advertising. With the help of their teams, they publish printed publications about & nbsp; blood donation, shoot game and & nbsp; non-game videos. One of the notable creative projects was the film The Warmth of Your Hearts, released by the Blood Transfusion Station of the Republic of Dagestan. About & nbsp; movie & nbsp; & mdash; laureate of the All-Russian competition of professional skills of the Blood Service & nbsp; & mdash; the head physician of the institution Khadizhat Tankaeva told us.

Saratov Regional Blood Transfusion Station took first place at the All-Russian Competition of Professional Skills in 2020 with the project "Thank you for help!" in the "Time to do adult deeds" nomination for "The best youth project aimed at promoting and developing voluntary donation of blood and its components". Promotion of blood donation among young people is one of the key activities of the blood service for the development of free blood donation. Tatyana Blagovidova, Deputy Chief Physician for Organizing Donation, will tell us about how this work is being done at the Saratov Regional Blood Transfusion Station.

The video "Minutes to give life", created by the Ulyanovsk regional station, is devoted to difficult questions: how a personal example of parents teaches children to save lives, how it helps to feel involved in the fate of people in need of donor blood, and why donation needs to be discussed at school. This year its authors became laureates of the All-Russian competition of professional skills of the Blood Service in the category "Don't miss the important". Marat Erikovich Khapman, a chief physician of the Ulyanovsk regional blood transfusion station, tells about how the project was created.

Twice a year, the Management Company of the special economic zone "Dubna" organizes and conducts Donor Days. Donor campaigns are attended not only by its and resident company’s employees but also from significant organizations in the city of Dubna. Anastasia Volchenkova, marketing and PR director of the joint-stock company “Special economic zone of technical-innovative type“ Dubna ”, tells about the specifics of donor actions.

This year the project "Quarantine is not an obstacle to a responsible donor" by the Stavropol Regional Blood Transfusion Station became a laureate of the All-Russian competition of professional skills of the Blood Service in the category "Best poster" in the nomination "Do not miss the important." Elena Gubanova, PR manager of the Blood Service of the Stavropol Territory, talks about the project and the specifics of communication during the pandemic period.

The donor movement of the Moscow University for the Humanities is more than twenty years old. Inna Sakhno is a Chairperson of the Student Council of the Moscow University for the Humanities. She told us about Donor Days and changes during the pandemic.

Students of the Moscow State Psychological and Pedagogical University actively participate in the student donor movement. Anastasia Akhlamova, one of the donor movement leaders of the Moscow State Psychological and Pedagogical University, a 4th-year student of the Faculty of Clinical and Special Psychology, told us about how it was possible to survive the introduction of restrictive measures during a period of increased epidemiological danger.

It is always teamwork to organize donor actions and events. Gulnara Letfullina, chairman of the donor team "Nadezhda" told us about the organization, arose from a small group of like-minded donors at the A.I. Yevdokimov Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry.

The Blood Service has been at front of the fight against coronavirus infection in 2020. The selfless work of doctors in clinics, the saving of patients - all this would be impossible without timely provision of medical institutions with donated blood. To achieve a common goal, it was required to restructure the work of the entire Blood Service in the shortest possible time, to find quick and effective solutions. Olga Valerievna Eichler, Head of the Department of Medical Support for Conversion and Extreme Work and the Blood Service of the FMBA of Russia, spoke about how the work was organized in this difficult time.

2020 has become a challenging year for the donor movement. During the pandemic, the number of donors has decreased. But it also created a new movement, blood donors responded to the call #BeaDonor. Igor Kastyukevich, deputy head of the ONF Executive Committee tells us about and what this year was remembered for.

Donor's breakfast is complicated and reluctant at the same time topic for donors. The list of prohibited products before a donation is quite long. Therefore, drawing up a donor's breakfast menu is almost a challenge. How to make a balanced, interesting and tasty menu? Donors regularly ask themselves this question. Apparently, this is the reason for the activity and creativity of the participants in the donor contest. How the competition was organized and held, why healthy eating habits are so important for blood donors, and is there an ideal donor's menu - Elena Stefanyuk answers, Director of the National Fund for Health Development, Deputy Chairman of the Coordinating Council for Blood Donation at the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation.

Each year on October 20th, Worldchefs celebrates International Chefs Day. The "Donor's Breakfast" competition was held in the branch of the Penza College of Food Industry and Commerce in the village of Shemysheika, with the participation of the Penza Regional Clinical Blood Center and the regional newspaper "Novoye Vremya". Galina Vladimirovna Kobzeva, head of the Donor's Breakfast project and executive secretary of the Novoye Vremya newspaper told about this competition and the importance of nutrition for blood donors.

The number of donors has declined sharply in the Blood Service institutions during the pandemic, but the Spartak football club came to the patients' rescue. The Red and White ones managed to quickly organize and carry out the event "Dignity is in our blood", the players and fans of the club responded to the call and saved many lives. Irina Razinkina, the head of the "SPARTAK for Children" Foundation, told us about the details of campaign.