Promoting Voluntary Blood Donation in Sri Lanka

Dear friends,

Thank you for standing with Save a Life's voluntary blood donation work. This quarter, our team held a four-day blood donation camp during the Nallur Festival in Jaffna, one of the busiest times of the year in the city. Over those four days, 236 people donated blood for patients in need.

We were especially encouraged by the number of women who donated, and by the many people who gave blood for the first time.

How it happened. The camp ran at the Jaffna Medical Officer of Health (MOH) office in Nallur. Before the festival, we invited the public to register as donors and as volunteers through online forms and posts in Tamil. During the camp, our staff and volunteers stood at the entrance hour after hour with leaflets, explaining why blood is needed and inviting people passing by to come in. Nearly 90% of the donors came forward because of these direct, personal invitations.

Partners. The camp was run in close collaboration with the Jaffna Municipal Council, the Jaffna MOH Office and the Blood Bank of the Teaching Hospital Jaffna, with support from Diakonia.

What we learned. A personal invitation works. Many people are willing to donate but need someone to ask them and explain why it matters. We will use this approach at future festival camps and in our university donor drives.

What's next. We plan to keep building a regular donor community in Jaffna so that blood banks are not left short between big events. Your donations help us print awareness materials, support volunteers and organise camps.

With gratitude,
The Save a Life team