KMG International and SMURD Foundation launch campaign to support blood donation at national level

KMG International is launching a campaign to support blood donation at the national level, between August 10 and October 10, in partnership with the National Institute of Hematology and Transfusion and the SMURD Foundation. Through its retail division, Rompetrol Downstream, the Group will provide donors, free of charge, with products from its Rompetrol hei fuel distribution network.

“The pandemic imposes physical distance on people, but we remain together in solidarity and responsibility. KMG International Group supports the medical staff and authorities to manage the current health crisis, and through this campaign we launch a call for involvement at the individual level, starting from our employees to all members of the community, to go and donate blood at a time when the need is acute. The campaign through which we offer hei products is the symbolic way in which we, Rompetrol, thank donors for their gesture of great nobility and responsibility,” said Alexey Golovin Chief Legal and Corporate Affairs.

“Blood makes the difference between life and death, it is a living tissue that cannot be replaced and an increasing number of patients need a blood transfusion. Most of the time, donated blood saves the lives of patients in hospitals. In the context of the coronavirus pandemic, convalescent plasma is also needed, rich in antibodies and taken from people cured by covid-19 and used for patients in critically ill conditions, in hospitals of infectious diseases. Unfortunately, the number of blood donors has decreased by 40-50% since the beginning of the pandemic, and compared to the same period of the previous year, although the demand is growing,” said Doina Gosa, Director of the Bucharest Blood Transfusion Center.

A single unit of donated blood can save up to 3 lives. However, in Romania, statistically, there are 1,8% donors, while Denmark for instance has the largest number of voluntary donors – 10% of the population (according to a report by the Regional Health Development Centre for Blood Safety).

„Blood donation is a gesture of social responsibility manifested at the individual level. Through a simple gesture, within the reach of most citizens, each donor offers a chance at life to those for whom blood makes the difference between life and death. There is never enough in terms of campaigns that support and promote this behavior of consistent blood donations, and I hope that this project launched by Rompetrol shall bring a new impulse in the fight for life, most of the times being won drop by drop,” said Raed Arafat, President of the SMURD Foundation.

The campaign takes place in all 41 transfusion centers in Romania, and the donor will receive at the time of donation a voucher based on which (s)he can receive free of charge, between August 10 – October 15, from any Rompetrol fuel distribution station a fresh juice of carrots, apples and ginger and a spread with mushrooms, bacon and chives or a spread with cream cheese and peaches. The voucher is not transferable and is valid together with the donor card or a certificate attesting the donation.