Kaunas Found its Heroes on National Blood Donation Day

For the first time in the history of ESN Lithuania, the organization’s 11 sections united together with the ESN LT Alumni and one section candidate for the National Blood Donation Day on 6 March in order to spread the word about the importance of donating blood.

Three ESN sections in Kaunas, including ESN VMU, gathered last Thursday to collect blood from volunteering donors. The event was organized with the help of ESN’s old friend in the city: the Kaunas Clinics’ Blood Centre. The helping hands of the centre’s professionals ensured that the act of donation was safe and painless.

The volunteers and the Blood Centre’s employees welcomed anyone wishing to donate blood from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. In total, 24 volunteering donors turned up and 20 of them successfully donated blood, becoming heroes in Kaunas: their blood will save many lives. Eight of these donors were exchange students, but their local peers and ESN members did not forget their social responsibilities either. Notably, one person’s blood can save the lives of at least three people.

Nobody likes to wait, but the students found ways to occupy themselves both while waiting to donate blood and recovering afterwards – they played cards and board games, talked to the staff and fellow volunteers. This friendly atmosphere also helped anyone who was still on the fence to make up their minds about donating.

The National Blood Donation Day was a generous and noble event which showed that there are many heroes around us. The ESN sections in Kaunas followed the motto “Sharing is caring” and united with the organization’s other sections in the country to show their support to those in need and help them expecting nothing in return.

Ernesta Strakšytė

Photos by Evelina Kurtinaitytė and Lina Petrauskaitė