The presidential palace held its annual blood donation drive on Wednesday, ahead of Saturday’s World Blood Donor Day.
The event was co-organised by the Bank of Cyprus’ SupportCY network, which supports healthcare initiatives and “various needs of the Cypriot society”, as well as the Cyprus blood bank and the presidency itself, and aimed to bolster the island’s blood supplies ahead of the summer.
The Bank of Cyprus said that the blood donation drive was attended by presidential palace staff, the presidential guard, members of the national guard, police officers, firefighters, paramedics, and members of the SupportCY volunteer corps.
SupportCY’s head of operations Marios Stavrou said that Cyprus serves as a “global example of selfless service and humanity”.
“Within a year, thousands of our fellow people will need blood – in a surgery, during a birth, in an accident. And every day, hundreds of volunteers rush to meet this need, not because someone forces them or pays them, but because they feel it,” Stavrou said.
He continued, “they know that life is a cycle – and that today you give; tomorrow, you may ask”.
In her remarks, first lady Philippa Karsera Christodoulides spoke about how blood donations represent the highest form of solidarity and selfless service.
She highlighted that a few minutes of blood donation can prove to be lifesaving and referred to this year’s theme for World Blood Donor Day, hope.
She added that “it is up to us to strengthen blood supplies in Cyprus and be able to help patients with long-term conditions, but also to immediately address emergencies, especially in view of the summer season”.
She concluded her speech by congratulating the SupportCY network, the Cyprus Blood Establishment, and other co-organisers of the blood drive, saying that “cooperation between the state, civil society, and major organisations can shape a fairer society”.
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