Brazil exceeds its numbers at the conclusion of the 6th International Marathon
Fifteen cities contributed to the increase of effective units
During the last months of 2015, in Brazil, 60,316 citizens donated their blood and helped increase the numbers of effective units in the country during the closing of the 6th International Blood Donation Marathon “Life is in the Blood - Donate the Sap of Life”, developed by the Global Embassy of Activists for Peace (GEAP).
Voluntarily and with love, activists from the cities of Barreiras, Belém, Boa Vista, Curitiba, Cuiabá, Goiânia, Guajará-Mirim, Itabuna, Joinville, Manaus, Muriaé, Natal, Rio Branco, São Paulo and São José dos Campos, they contributed as donors and promoters of the regular and altruistic donation culture.
These numbers represent a great advance compared to the 5th International Marathon held during the month of June of the same year, in which the number of effective units was 47,000. However, according to data from the Ministry of Health of Brazil, only 1.9% of the country's population is a donor; for this reason, the challenge was to reach the ideal percentages equivalent to 3%.
During the 6th International Marathon alliances were established with the blood banks and these figures were achieved, which, added to the numbers of the previous campaign, present a total of more than 100,000 effective units throughout the year 2015.
The work of the GEAP volunteers in Brazil focused on different types of actions, from the training work of the promoters in conjunction with the professionals of the hemocenters, talks in schools, universities, events and churches, to awareness campaigns in the streets of the cities, where citizens were summoned directly and personally, impacting public opinion.
In the same way, the “Solidarity Christmas” was carried out, which started in São José dos Campos and served as an example to later develop in other cities.Taking advantage of the fact that during the end of the year festivities is when people are more receptive and blood banks are more in need of donors due to the increase in accident figures, the humanistic approach to blood donations was highlighted and strengthened, sensitizing the citizens and calling them to join this work.
