133 liters of blood were donated by residents of Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, Odesa and Lviv as part of the "We Are of One Blood" initiative from FUIB Bank, held in partnership with DonorUA and Blood Agents. This is potentially 885 lives saved. The truck will be finally met in Kyiv, on Independence Day, at Kontraktova Square.
The LifeSavingTruck tour across Ukraine, dedicated to the anniversary of our independence, draws attention to the importance of systemic blood donation. In each city, the truck works for two days.
"Starting from February 24, 2022, our country is being bled dry. It is being destroyed. Military and civilians are getting injured every day. 70% of deaths on the battlefield are due to blood loss. The circulatory system helps the human body to function, connects its various systems and encourages them to work in unison. The banking sector, which connects different sectors of our economy, has a similar impact on the country's viability. We saw a certain symbolism and mission in this. To save Ukrainian blood. Thus, more than two years ago, we launched the social project "We Are of One Blood," which has evolved from a tactical initiative into a full-scale platform. Its form is "not just things" that save lives. And we will not stop as long as the war continues," - commented FUIB's Marketing Director Ksenia Sikorska.
LifeSavingTruck houses a mobile blood donation and blood type center, as well as a merchandise corner called "We are of the same blood", where every donor receives a 25% discount on clothing. From each ordered piece of merchandise, 50% of the funds are donated to public organizations - DonorUA, Blood Agents, and Hospitallers. Thus, each donor has a unique opportunity to help twice: to donate blood directly, and to become an investor in its transportation to hot spots and the purchase of tampons.
"The full-scale war has exacerbated the need for donated blood by about 60%. This is incredibly high, especially considering that even before 2022, ⅔ of patients did not receive blood in advance. Some of them can wait if it is a planned transfusion or surgery. However, wounded soldiers on the battlefield or injured civilians in the frontline regions do not have this option. Therefore, blood is transported from almost all over Ukraine to save them. Of the more than 100 trips we have organized, 80 were financed thanks to cooperation with FUIB," says Iryna Slavinska, CEO and co-founder of DonorUA.
"You can talk endlessly about the lack of donors, or you can come up with the boldest ideas and attract blood donations through creative campaigns. The LifeSavingTruck tour of Ukraine has once again proved that non-standard approaches are always more effective in encouraging new donors. People came to the campaign because they were primarily interested in how the donation process works in the truck, so the format turned out to be a win-win: you get emotions - the center gets blood. In each city, doctors were able to temporarily cover the need for donated blood, and this is the main thing, because donation is a crucial issue today," - comments Ivanka Koval, co-founder of Blood Agents.
The project "We Are of One Blood" was initiated more than two years ago by FUIB to provide systematic assistance in meeting the needs for donated blood, delivering blood components to hot spots, purchasing tactical medicine for Ukrainian defenders, equipment for paramedics, and adaptive clothing for the wounded. For more than two years of the project's existence, we have transferred UAH 8,604,984 to the accounts of NGOs, purchased 6,312 units of tactical medical equipment, made 80 blood deliveries, 912 units of decent adaptive clothing for the wounded, and most importantly, saved 126,587 lives.
We invite you to save lives in Kyiv on Kontraktova Square. You can register for a blood donation on August 23 here or on August 24 here. And remember that one blood donation is 3 lives saved.