Days of Honorary Blood Donation of the Polish Red Cross

Almost 90 years ago, at the initiative of the Polish Red Cross, the first Blood Transfusion and Conservation Institute was opened in Poland in Warsaw, which was then one of the best facilities of its kind in Europe. The Institute was not only a place for research on blood conservation and transfusion but also contributed to the promotion of the idea of blood donation. The first Clubs of Honorary Blood Donors of PCK were established 65 years ago. The impetus for creating HDK Clubs was a mass and spontaneous blood donation campaign to aid the victims of the Hungarian uprising in 1956.

Currently, there are 696 HDK PCK Clubs operating in the Polish Red Cross. There are 18,481 blood donors associated with them, of which 29% are women (5,424 female donors).

One of them is Mrs. Elżbieta, a member of HDK PCK in Karczew. She has been donating blood regularly for 20 years. So far, she has donated over 10 liters. Her motivation is helping another person. Her blood has saved more than one life. There was a time when she needed blood herself – then good came back to her. Mrs. Elżbieta's husband is also an honorary blood donor (20 liters of donated blood). Recently, their twenty-year-old daughter has also started donating blood.

According to GUS data, in Poland in 2022, over 622 thousand people donated blood. Among this group, women accounted for only 25%. To encourage women, the Polish Red Cross announced a nationwide competition called “Strength of BLOOD Friendship.” Honorary female blood donors in the competition donate blood and encourage other women to donate: friends, mothers, daughters, sisters, neighbors. The competition runs from October 2 to February 29. The results will be announced on March 8, 2024.

On the occasion of the Days of Honorary Blood Donation of the Polish Red Cross, Anna Cieślak donated blood, a theater and film actress, regular blood donor. 

After visiting the Regional Blood Donation and Hemotherapy Center in Warsaw, summarizing how important it is to donate blood, she jokingly said that instead of poisoning others with blood, it's better to pass it on.