Since October 2014 the 4th International Blood Drive Marathon “Life is in the Blood” is carried out with great success, as part of the health projects which the Global Embassy of Activists for Peace has been developing for the last two years, with different public and private health institutions in different countries of the world.
The Activists for Peace from Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, United States, Spain, Chile, Guatemala, El Salvador, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Paraguay and Venezuela, have voluntarily organized a “marathon for life” seeking the formation of a culture of voluntary and regular safe blood donation among the citizens of these countries, so that they can have a constant blood supply available for the people, offering wellbeing, quality of life and peace to the families who need it.
The demand of safe blood available for the end year season raises drastically in Latin America, because of the high number of accidents and violence, but the quantity of voluntary donations does not reach the amount needed to suffice this necessity in the blood banks. Because of this, the Activists for Peace, volunteers of this campaign, are implementing different plans of action to foment a culture in the people about the regular safe blood donation, which is an act of love, solidarity and social responsibility.
The Marathon, which started on October 1st, will extend through November 15, in the donation centers established by the Global Embassy of Activists for Peace, in malls, universities, corporations, hospitals or other medical centers located in the main cities. Here you can find more information about where and when these blood donation marathons are programmed for.
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Information updates
ARGENTINA
The media has accompanied the blood drives in Resistencia, Chaco – Posadas, Misiones, Mendoza, Saenz Peña, Chaco and Buenos Aires, not only inviting the citizens to come to the donation centers, but encouraging them to become Activists for Peace. On October 22 and 25 in Buenos Aires, capital city of Argentina, donation centers were established with the Hospital Garraham, where it was possible to invite hundreds of volunteers who in a very optimistic way came to donate blood.
BRAZIL
In cities like San Jose de los Campos an innumerable amount of conferences have been dictated in educative institutions about the importance of the formation of a culture of voluntary and regular safe blood donation. In other cities and municipalities from the interior of Brazil such as Fortaleza, Acre, Joinville, Juiz de Fora and São Paulo have also joined to the International Blood Drive Marathon of the Global Embassy of Activists for Peace.
BOLIVIA
Sr. Guillermo Sanchez Toledo, a voluntary donor who was in the International Marathon “Life is in the Blood” in Bolivia, expressed: “Today it can be another person, tomorrow it can be ourselves, so it is better to donate”.
In cities like Tarija, Montero, Santa Cruz, La Paz, Cochabamba, Villamontes, Trinidad, Yacuiba, the blood drives have continued with 20 donation centers and uncountable testimonies of people that have benefited with this act of solidarity. 2,388 blood units have been collected until now, number that it is hoped to increase in the blood drives to be carried out in Yacuiba on November 6 and 7, and in Bermejo on the 19 and 20 of the same month.
COLOMBIA
The 4th Marathon its carried out positively in cities like Bogota, Barranquilla, Villavicencio, Medellin, Cali, Santa Marta, Cucuta, Pereira, Manizales, Neiva, Sincelejo, Florencia, Bucaramanga and Armenia. 186 donation centers located in 11 departments of Colombia.
Surpassing climate difficulties produced by the winter in this season and overflowing with creativity such as music, colorful costumes and cartoon characters, the Global Embassy of Activists for Peace and its volunteers, motivate with success the population, achieving to foment a culture of voluntary and regular safe blood donation in companies, entities, educative institutions, religious groups, indigenous communities, and thousands of Colombians, who recognize now that donating blood it’s not only important, but necessary.
COSTA RICA
Heredia and Cartago are the cities where 6 blood donation centers for the Global Embassy of Activists for Peace under the framework of the 4th Marathon. Dozens of people participated, motivated by the promotion of the activists that are working in this campaign in Costa Rica.
CHILE
This country has achieved to establish in different cities like Gran Valparaíso (Quilpue, Valparaíso, Viña del Mar, Villa Alemana), Gran La Serena (La Serena y Coquimbo), Antofagasta, Quillota, Concepción and in the capital, Santiago de Chile, more than 14 blood donation centers. With many ways of personal promotion and media, the goal of the coordination of the Global Embassy of Activists for Peace in Chile is to increase significantly the number of effective units collected in past Marathons.
ECUADOR
In Quito, capital of Ecuador, the 4th International Blood Drive Marathon started with a massive act in the Heroes of the National Police Plaza in the capital of Ecuador. In Quito, until the moment, a total of 837 units have been collected, in Machachi 271, Ibarra 432, Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas 290, for a total of 1,830 effective blood units in Ecuador.
SPAIN
The Global Embassy of Activists for Peace has installed eighteen donation centers in Barcelona, Spain. In Cataluña, Spaniard city, the necessity of safe blood is one of 1000 daily units. In these places, the citizens have this culture of voluntary blood donation as second nature (mainly because of family upbringing) and the Global Embassy of Activists for Peace promote that the donors come more often to the blood donation centers.
UNITED STATES
Valle de Texas, U.S.A.
For second occasion, the Blood Donation Marathon in the city of Brownsville, Texas, with the United Blood Services (UBS), Texas Southmost College (TSC) and the University of Texas in Brownsville (UTB). The Marathon was carried out on October 14, 28 and 29 in the installations of the TSC.
Eight more cities in Texas and Oaklahoma are standing by with this campaign: Oklahoma City, Houston, Dallas, Waco, Austin, San Antonio, Brownsville and El Paso. A total of 314 effective blood units have been collected until the moment.
University Georgetown, Washington D.C.
The Global Embassy of Activists for Peace, with the University of Georgetown and the American Red Cross, carried out the first blood donation Marathon in their campus with the participation of professors, students, employees and voluntary members of the organization, the majority mainly belonging to the Latin community located in this part of the United States of America. 31 effective blood units was the result of this blood drive.
GUATEMALA
In this Central American country different cities were the scenery for the 4th International Blood Drive Marathon: Totonicapan, Chiquimula, Chimaltenango, Guatemala (Guatemala City), Escuintla, Alta Verapaz (Coban), Jutiapa, Sacatepequez, with 15 donation centers in blood drives since 8 in the morning until 5 in the afternoon.
MÉXICO
The starting flag for the International Blood Drive Marathon in Mexico was in the Medicine Faculty of the UAEM. In this act, The Dean of the Medicine Faculty of this university, Dr. Lilia Patricia Bustamante Montes; the President of the Student Organization Pro Health (OEPSA); and the student Ignacio Manuel Lagunas Bustos, accompanied the architect in this Marathon, Dr. William Soto Santiago, Ambassador of the Global Embassy of Activists for Peace; Dr. Elizabeth Davila Chavez, General Director of the Health Institute of The Sate of Mexico; Jose Ruben Junior Pimentel Valle, representative of the National Center of Blood Transfusion; and Dr. Isis Maria Lopez Baltazar, Director of the State Center of Blood Transfusion.
NICARAGUA
The activists of the Global Embassy of Activists for Peace have installed 5 blood donation centers in Nicaraguan cities of Rivas, Chinandega, Managua and Masaya, where they hope to reel in many volunteers to achieve their goals in this 4th International Marathon.
PANAMA
In 11 donation centers in Panama City, the activists have been motivating the citizens to participate in this 4th International Marathon. The Columbus University Panama and the UMECIT have been some of the institutions that opened their doors to the Global Embassy of Activists for Peace to continue with this altruistic work.
PUERTO RICO
In the headquarters of the Global Embassy of Activists for Peace in Cayey, the 4th International Blood Drive Marathon on October 24 and 25, where more than 200 units of safe blood were collected.
“I think that the human being has a compromise to help others, because we are the only ones that can produce this blood, which is the sap of life,” were the words of Josue Gonzalez when donating.
In Cidra, Ponce and Vega Baja blood drives were also carried out during this 4th Marathon.
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
In this Caribbean country, a culture of blood donation is being promoted under constant workshops developed by the Global embassy of Activists for Peace, reaching approximately 400 people. 24 voluntary donors have compromised, and 9 effective units obtained.
VENEZUELA
On October 1st in the Central University of Venezuela the opening of the 4th Blood Drive Marathon in charge of the Global Ambassador for Peace, Dr. William Soto. This was the forerunner of the International Conference “Donating the Sap of Life”, which was carried out in the Aula Magna of this University with the presence of hundreds of Activists for Peace and coordinators of institutions related to the blood donations in Venezuela, among others special guests, in which the Communicational Educative Program for the Formation of a Voluntary and Regular Safe blood Donation was presented, which is in its socialization and facilitator education phase for its pilot implementation in Venezuela.
The 4th Marathon was successfully developed in Venezuela, with donation centers distributed in almost the entire country.
Costa Rica, Peru, El Salvador and Paraguay also participated of this 4th Blood Drive Marathon “Life is in the Blood”, in which it is hoped to duplicate the numbers obtained in the past marathon of April 2014.
