Bankers join forces to raise awareness of charity that heals and saves lives
Budapest, 14 October 2024
The Hungarian Banking Association and representatives of the Hungarian banking sector are organising the Banking Blood Donors' Week for the 5th time. The aim of the event, to which the National Bank of Hungary has been a partner for several years, is to raise awareness of the importance of blood donation among bank employees at sector level and contribute to the production of thousands of blood products through voluntary blood donations.
This year, the now traditional event has been extended to a whole month. The event titled Banking Blood Donor Month 2024 will take place between 8 October and 8 November 2024, with blood donations in 20 banking locations (18 in Budapest and 2 in the countryside). Management and staff members from the National Bank of Hungary (MNB) will also join the event series - expanding the programme into a true cross-sectoral collaboration scheme. The collected blood will be used to make thousands of life-saving blood products to help patients recover.
With the help of the National Blood Transfusion Service, which coordinates the professional tasks of the programme, and the Hungarian Red Cross, the staff members of financial institutions will volunteer to donate blood at banking locations and blood centres in Nyíregyháza and Békéscsaba, in addition to Budapest.
Speaking at the opening event at UniCredit Bank, Csaba Kandrács, Deputy Governor of the National Bank of Hungary (MNB), said ‘MNB has organised 10 blood donations in the past year, where our colleagues gave blood more than 1 100 times - an increase of about 10% year-on-year. This has helped more than 3 000 of our fellow citizens in their recovery, which is clear proof of the power of working together towards a common goal.
In his speech, Barnabás Virág, Deputy Governor of MNB, urged everyone who has the potential to do so, to donate blood, and if possible, more than just once a year. This is not only a contribution to the recovery of our fellow citizens, but such selfless acts of kindness also help us draw attention to the importance of social solidarity and to helping each other. He expressed his gratitude to the donors and his hope that more and more people will follow the banking community’s example.
Sándor Nagy, Medical Director of the National Blood Transfusion Service, thanked the banking sector for its continued and ever-intensifying blood donation efforts.
On the occasion of the 5th anniversary, the National Blood Transfusion Service awarded a certificate to the Hungarian Banking Association in recognition of its outstanding organisation of the event.
On behalf of the Banking Blood Donors' Week, Radovan Jelasity, President of the Banking Association, himself a regular blood donor right at the forefront of the programme with more than 50 donations to date, said thank you to all those who donate blood to support the recovery of others, and expressed his hope that the example set by the banking community will be followed by ever more people. Levente Kovács, Secretary General of the Banking Association, extended banking blood donations from one week to one month to ensure continuity of blood supply. Between 8 October and 8 November, a total of 20 blood donations will take place under this programme at external sites.
In Hungary, five hundred thousand units of blood are needed every year to ensure a safe blood supply, which, in turn, requires around half a million voluntary blood donors. It takes between 1 600 and 1 800 blood donors per day to help maintain a safe blood supply.
Every donation counts - it saves lives.
BACKGROUND:
Members of the banking sector united as one under the auspices of the Hungarian Banking Association during the Covid pandemic, when the GOOD DEED BANK initiative, a joint CSR programme of the banking sector, was created. GOOD DEED BANK embraces initiatives where joint action is required for success, such as
blood donation during the Banking Blood Donor Week. The activities of GOOD DEED BANK were recognised with Mastercard’s ‘Social Initiative 2021’ Special Award. One of the key events organised by GOOD DEED BANK is the Banking Blood Donor Week, during which bankers in Hungary donated thousands of units of blood in recent years to help patients’ recovery. In 2022 and 2023 the programme was extended to two weeks, increasing further to a full month in 2024, also reaching several locations in the countryside.
In 2022, as part of the Banking Blood Donors' Week, the Hungarian Banking Association launched a poster design competition to raise awareness of the importance of blood donation through the unique works of young artists from the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design. The posters have since helped raise awareness of this social duty.
(Photos: Márk Kiss)
Hungarian Banking Association
14 October 2024