EUFOR military and civilian members from nine countries have shown their commitment to helping the population of BiH by donating blood in Camp Butmir in support of World Blood Donor Day.
EUFOR was initially approached by Professor Maida Šalaga-Baždar, head of blood donation promotion. She emphasized the importance of providing blood for use in the General Hospital and Clinical Centre of Sarajevo University, as well as other transfusion centres in BiH.
“The blood cannot be artificially manufactured and so the only source is a human donor”, she said.
World Blood Donor Day takes place on 14 June and is organized by the World Health Organisation (WHO). The goal of the campaign is to increase awareness about why timely access to safe blood and blood products is essential for all countries.
EUFOR Medical Advisor, Major Radoslav Ivanov, helped to organize the donor session together with the Medical Cell staff.
“All donors had to pass a preliminary medical check to ensure their blood was suitable before beginning. Everything went smoothly thanks to the EUFOR Medical Cell and Blood Transfusion Institute”, said Dr Irena Dinova, EUFOR Medical Cell chief.
Dr Kenan from the Blood Transfusion Institute said, “The blood is important not only for urgent cases, but for everyday routine surgery too. Today, EUFOR soldiers help to save the lives of the BiH inhabitants.”
ST
