Blood donation during working hours allowed

The Blood Service prepares and delivers blood products made from donated blood to hospitals. The goal is to recruit over 20,000 new donors annually to increase the donor base and ensure it meets sudden changes in blood demand. 

As part of this goal, the Blood Service’s workplace certificate was created, which workplaces can obtain if their employees are allowed to donate blood during working hours. The certificate has been in use since autumn 2023 and already includes over 400 workplaces. 

The certificate has great symbolic value 

At Jokipiin Pellava, the workplace certificate was adopted immediately in autumn 2023 at the initiative of the staff. A few of the twenty-plus employees regularly donate blood. 

“As a workplace, we want to actively enable blood donation and listen to the wishes of the staff,” says Development Manager Jussi Laurila. 

“Blood donation during working hours has gone well. From an employer branding perspective, the workplace certificate also adds value to us, as it concretely shows what has been agreed upon,” Laurila explains. 

At the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), the initiative for the certificate also came from the employees. The agency, which has been operating in Helsinki since 2007, employs about 600 people from various European countries. Tiiu Bräutigam from the agency’s communications department says that ECHA wants to encourage staff to donate blood during working hours because it is a very concrete way to help and get more people to become donors. 

“Blood donation is an important way to help and save lives, which supports our agency’s values. The European Chemicals Agency’s work for chemical safety protects health and the environment,” Bräutigam summarizes. 

“The workplace certificate sends a message to employees that blood donation is important and that ECHA values their actions. This is a small step for our agency as an employer, but it has great symbolic value. We warmly encourage other organizations to allow blood donation during working hours.” 

Easy to adopt the workplace certificate 

• The workplace certificate is a recognition that an organization can obtain if its employees can donate blood during working hours. 

• The certificate supports companies‘ and organizations‘ responsible brand and employer image. 

• The certificate enables more people to donate blood during working hours. 

• The workplace certificate means that workplaces have the opportunity to concretely help patients. 

• The workplace can decide on the details of blood donation itself. On average, blood is donated 1.6 times per year. 

• There is no cost to adopt the Blood Donation During Working Hours certificate. 

• The certificate was launched in autumn 2023, and now includes over 400 organizations of various sizes. 

• The certificate can be downloaded from the Blood Service’s website, where it can be added to your own website. The workplace certificate page also lists the participating workplaces. 

 More info: www.veripalvelu.fi/en/donate-blood-during-working-hours

Also read: Donor groups