The 12th annual blood donor torch relay started on Friday after the flame was ignited in front of the Greek Parliament, next to the Unknown Soldier monument, in downtown Athens.
The Panhellenic Torch Relay of Volunteer Blood Donors is part of the effort to raise awareness in regards to blood donation, inform the public, spread the volunteer movement and motivate more people to donate. It was established in 2002 by the National Federation of Voluntary Blood Donors.
The torch relay will travel from Athens to Kozani, in northern Greece, until October 3. More than 25,000 volunteers from various medical and sports clubs, as well as charity organizations, will participate in the event, running throughout the country and motivating other people to follow them.
This year, for the first time, the flame will cross the Greek border and spread the message of volunteering blood donation to Albania, Bulgaria and Turkey.
Greece has ranked 7th in volunteer blood donors in Europe, mostly due to the large number of people who suffer from thalassaemia and sickle cell anemia. More than 600,000 blood units are required each year to cover the country’s needs, 130,000 of which are used to treat patients who are in need of frequent blood transfusions.
In 2012, most donations came from patients’ family members. In 2013, however, more than half of the blood units (52%) came from volunteer blood donors, 45% from relatives and 3% from the military.
As of September 2014, Greek authorities have created a national electronic volunteer blood donor registry.
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