Hello, my name is Jean Baptiste Ronat. I’m a laboratory adviser for MSF.
Blood Donation or Blood Donor Day was established a few years ago by the World Health
Organization. It’s a very important event because it helps make people aware of the need for
regular voluntary blood donations so there’s enough safe blood all year round to treat the
patients who really need it. We’ve been using blood products in different circumstances for
many years now at MSF. They’re a key component of our medical activities. We use them
with patients, children with severe malaria, for example, for serious trauma cases, accidents,
during surgery and so on… In 2014, MSF’s different sections across the world supplied more
than 60,000 bags of blood for use in transfusions.
MSF became involved in blood donation last year when it began supporting and assisting the
Koutiala team in Mali. So, Blood Donor Day in Koutiala started with a march through the
town with a large number of townspeople, as well as local representatives and different
opinion leaders. This was followed by a debate and discussions with the local authorities.
Before the day itself, schoolchildren were invited to do drawings on the theme of blood
donation and why people give their blood. On the Day, a prize was awarded for the best
drawing. Then certificates were handed out to the voluntary donors from 2013. After that the
teams and the townspeople went down to the football pitch to play a few games of soccer. The
MSF team had set up an information tent there where they could talk to people who were
interested about the importance of giving blood. So they were able to reach a lot of people
with information about blood donation. There was also a blood drive on site for donors who
wanted to give blood then and there. It was a really successful event in fact, because at the
start of 2013 the voluntary blood donation rate was only about 8%, and at the end of 2014 we
were up to about 35% of voluntary donations. So, yes, we can say it was a great success.
So, don’t hesitate to use whatever associations you’ve got on site - civic associations,
associations of students – to help you create this event and promote this event. In the run-up
to the Day, it’s very important to use the local media to help with the promotion, such as the
radio, for example. There’ll also be a Facebook page you can use and generic posters to print
off and put up. There is also a set of leaflets available that you can print and distribute to
people, explaining why giving blood is important. And you'll also be given stickers with a
little logo on that you can print out and stick on clothes or wherever you want. You could also
try organising a “selfie” competition. If you print a little sidebar with the logo, for example,
and take photos of all the people who either come and give blood or come for information,
you can post them afterwards on Facebook. And - last thing – we’ll provide you with a short
guide on how to use Facebook to promote this event, and how to make it more fun. It’s really
important to create buzz for the event. So don’t hesitate to ask the communication team or the
different laboratory advisers to give you a hand. So, there you are. If you have any ideas, send
them to us, and feel free to ask us for help with creating promotion materials or any other
forms of communications. Be creative at this event. This is a really important action. You
have to create buzz, so people really have to work together on this event. You need people
who are motivated, so, come on, local teams, we need you to buy in to this event, to get out
there and show people that giving blood is really important, that it’s absolutely crucial in fact
for saving the lives of people in danger.