To make a difference in a person's life, sometimes you just have to reach out. And it was by believing in this act of solidarity that the companies Albras and Hydro Alunorte promoted the Voluntary Blood Donation Campaign, carried out 15 years ago in the municipality of Barcarena (PA), always in partnership with the Hemopa Foundation.

The 2013 edition took place between the 24th and 27th of September and reached the goal of collecting 1,200 blood bags the day before the closing. “We work in a party atmosphere, with a taste of victory,” explained Rubya Silva, a work nurse at Albras and one of the event organizers. “The partnership with Hemopa is essential and ensures that the collection is done in a specialized way. We advertise inside the factories and in the communities ”, completed Miriam Melônio, labor nurse at the alumina refinery Hydro Alunorte.
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The result was celebrated. “The assessment is very positive. It is a job that has been very successful, ”said Maria de Socorro Ferreira, Hemopa's technical director.

The blood collected in the Barcarena campaign will help maintain stocks in the main blood center in Pará, which currently registers a 40% reduction in the number of voluntary donors, which has the current average daily collection of 150 bags, when the ideal would be to collect between 250 and 300 units.

The campaign mobilized 1,596 donors, not only employees and contractors of Hydro companies, but also relatives and residents of the microregion of B | arcarena.

Donors - “What encourages me the most is knowing that what I'm going to do today is to save someone's life. Some 7 years ago my second daughter was born with a hemoglobin problem and needed to have a transfusion. A boy helped me and today I thank him very much. I started to donate from that. I didn't ask him, he heard our case during a screening and was sensitized to help ”, said Anito Pereira Rangel, Albras production operator”.

"It is a great satisfaction to be able to donate a little bit of me to someone who, for sure, will need it. It is very gratifying to donate to others. The campaign is important because we left the industrial environment a little to help other people" , concluded the analyst of the Quality Area of Hydro Alunorte, Karina Trindade, last donor of the campaign, in the 2013 edition.

Tradition - Last year, the campaign promoted by the companies collected 1,641 blood bags, higher than expected. This amount was enough to reinforce Hemopa stocks for 30 days, in a critical period, such as that of Círio de Nazaré, when the demand from hospitals increases.

In 15 years, the campaign has already managed to collect 20,917 donations. “The campaign is done as a team. We join efforts to mobilize more and more volunteers. This is an initiative that is not seen anywhere in Brazil. For all of us, it is essential ”, says nurse Rubya.

Criteria - To donate, the person must be between 18 and 65 years old and must carry a photo ID. With the donation, tests for various diseases are carried out free of charge, including: AIDS, Syphilis, Chagas Disease, Hepatitis, HTLV I and II, in addition to blood typing, which are made available to donors. Men can donate every two months and women every three months.