Does the Blood Service provide disaster relief abroad?
No we don’t. Blood products do not withstand long journeys or, in general, long-term storage. That is why blood products for disaster areas are sought from as nearby as possible.
The International Red Cross coordinates requests for assistance, but none have been made to the Finnish Red Cross Blood Service in recent years.
The Blood Service fulfils its global responsibilities by sharing its expertise and providing expert services, for the development of blood service operations in developing countries, for example. The Blood Service participates in activities such as the relief efforts of the International Red Cross. Starting from 2018 The Blood Service assists the Nepalese blood transfusion service in the reconstruction work following the earthquakes of 2015. Before then, a Blood Service expert participated in projects in the Asian tsunami region.
In principle, for relief work the Blood Service does not use funds raised from the provision of hospital blood products and services. Instead, the expertise it provides is funded from sources such as the Finnish Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.