Scouts and blood donation have always belonged together
Blood donation activities began in Finland in 1935 at the initiative of scouts. The example set by the scouts lives on and is still thriving. This year, the Finnish Red Cross Blood Service and the Finnish Scouts are celebrating the 90-year milestone by encouraging scouts and everyone else to donate blood.
The campaign encourages taking action
To honor the anniversary year, the Finnish Scouts are implementing a campaign among their members, encouraging adult scouts of blood donation age and their close circles to donate blood.
– We challenge scout troops across Finland to take action, as our goal is to recruit new blood donors. Our goal for the anniversary year could be 3,000 saved patients, which means 1,000 blood donations, challenges Kaisu Tolvanen, Communications and Marketing Manager of the Finnish Scouts.
Scouts or those who feel like scouts will receive the “Feel your responsibility, take action” fabric badge when donating.
Blood donation will be visible during spring and the end of the year at various events. Starting on Scout Week on April 22, the Pop-up Scout Den of the Capital Region Scouts will take over Narinkkatori in Helsinki, and the Blood Service’s blood donation bus will be present from Tuesday to Thursday.
A small beginning, a big impact
Blood transfusions were still rare in Finland in the 1930s. Patients died because blood transfusion treatments were new and there were no blood donors yet. In Helsinki, the scout leaders of the Töölön Siniset scout troop felt responsible and wanted to help. They founded the scouts’ blood donor community, Veriliitto, on March 30, 1935, which soon expanded from Helsinki to other parts of Finland.
Blood donations were still very few in the 1930s compared to today. Veriliitto’s membership peaked at 387, and by the end of 1940, scouts had donated blood a total of 861 times. However, the activity had a significant impact on the development of patient care in Finland. Scouts set an example of how to organize blood donation. During the war years, the activities of the Scouts’ Veriliitto were discontinued when the Finnish Defence Forces took over the responsibility for blood supply.
– The example of the scouts still inspires. Taking responsibility and helping others should never go out of fashion, states Willy Toiviainen, Communications and Human Resources Director of the Blood Service.
After the war, Finland’s blood supply was reorganized, and it became the task of the Finnish Red Cross in 1948. The activity expanded, and blood transfusions became routine treatment throughout the country. Nowadays, there are over 170,000 blood donations in Finland annually, and about 110,000 individual donors each year. However, new donors are constantly needed to ensure that the Blood Service has good readiness to supply blood products to healthcare in all situations.
Photo: Netta hautamäki.
