As a part of the ‘Donate Blood for Brno’ campaign, primary and secondary schools in the city will include ‘Blood: The Essence of Life’, a course about the importance of blood donation, as a part of the syllabus. The aim is to increase awareness of blood donation and related activities among students. Photo Credit: Courtesy of MMB.
Brno, Sep 6 (BD) – The City of Brno has prepared a special educational program for primary and high school students, entitled ‘Blood – the essence of life’. The project, created as part of the ‘Donate Blood for Brno’ campaign, was created by the Bioskop Science and Training Center at Masaryk University, at the request of the city.
“For more than a year and a half, we have been using the Donate Blood for Brno campaign to draw attention to the importance of voluntary donation of blood and blood components for healthcare,” explained Petr Hladík (KDU-CSL), First Deputy Mayor of Brno. “Other activities are aimed at recruiting volunteers to the register of bone marrow donors in Brno. Every donor can help save a human life. A novelty in the campaign is an educational program created specifically for older pupils and high school students, to teach them about the importance of blood and donation. They will get a chance to try a cross-test of blood groups, microscopy, and basic diagnostics from blood smears.” He added that the program will be offered to all primary and secondary schools in Brno at a discounted price. The course for primary school students is two hours long, and for secondary school students, it is three hours.
The program was designed by Masaryk University’s Bioskop Science Teaching Center, which has professional facilities, including laboratories and equipment, and professional lecturers with experience working in modern laboratories, as well as working with children and students.
“At Bioskop, we give children the opportunity to get to know humans, nature and natural phenomena in a practical and fun way and to look under the surface of science. We believe that this practical experience of what blood is, what it is used for and how it works in our body, will encourage them to donate in adulthood themselves,” said Lumír Krejčí, Chairman of the Scientific Board of Bioskop.
The City of Brno wants to use the campaign to motivate citizens to donate blood or blood components. It is also encouraging people to register as bone marrow donors. An estimated 100,000 blood donors are needed in the Czech Republic. Each of us will need an average of five blood transfusions in our lives, and medicine made from blood 14 times.
Information about the Donate Blood for Brno campaign can be found at www.darujmekrev.brno.cz .
