Russian volunteers will arrange a marathon to prepare responsible donors

On August 6, the “Sleduy za mnoy!” #ЯОтветственныйДонор» marathon has started in Russia. It will last until May 2020.

The All-Russian Movement "Volontery-mediki" announces the launch of a project aimed to develop free and regular donation of blood and its components.

Ten regions were selected on a competitive basis, which will become fundamental for the implementation of the project. These are Moscow, Mordovia, Dagestan, Voronezh, Samara, Saratov, Kirov, Irkutsk, Kaliningrad regions, Primorsky Territory. It is expected that more than 200 volunteers will take part in the organization of the marathon, and about seven thousand Russians will become its participants.

«We refused from mass donor actions in favor of individual and stable work with donors and those who want to join them. Our marathon will allow us to accompany everyone on the path to becoming a responsible donor. Together we will prepare for donations, prevent medical rejections, develop healthy habits and seek personal motivation to be a donor” - Pavel Savchuk, chairman of the All-Russian public movement “Volontery-mediki”.

You may join the marathon at any stage. The project is dedicated to people over the age of 18 years who have no restrictions to blood donation. Registration of marathoners is already open on the project page in the social network "Vkontakte".

«Sleduy za mnoy! #ЯОтветственныйДонор» is a cycle of donations and events to support regular blood donation. Volunteers will tell about the donation, its rules, the prevention of diseases that may lead to disqualification, help to form healthy habits and organize donor events. All participants will be able to receive prompt advice by chat with volunteer mentors” – said in the press release.

Russian volunteers will hold a large marathon to prepare responsible donors. 500 finalists actively involved in the events and donated blood or its components three and more times will be identified in the spring of 2020. All of them will receive memorable awards and gifts.

The FMBA and the All-Russian public movement “Volontery-mediki " entered into an agreement on cooperation during the III Forum of Social Innovation of Regions in Moscow in 2019 in order to increase the potential of healthcare and to develop medical volunteering.

The partners of the marathon are the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, FMBA and the National Medical Research Center for Preventive Medicine of the Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation. The project is being implemented using a grant from the President of the Russian Federation for the development of civil society provided by the Presidential Grants Fund.