Following the huge success and encouraging response from last May's Blood Drive at the St Joseph Band Club Ghanjnsielem, another marathon will be organized on Saturday the 6th of December 2008 as part of the 'Ghajnsielem Week' activities. The band club will once again literally be turned into a blood donation centre.

The target is to start holding this event every December on a yearly basis. The blood donation drive will again be held in collaboration with the Malta National Blood Transfusion and the Red Cross Gozo Branch.

The executive committee is planning to start a 3 months intensive campaign inviting all the general public to take part in this activity and donate blood. By donating a pint of blood you may save three lives. Imagine the three people you are saving. Imagine their hopes and dreams, picture their lifetime of experiences - and share in their joy.

The committee is urging all potential donors to participate in this event. A reservation can be made by sending an SMS message with your name on 99459426 or by contacting one of the committee members.

To qualify, a person must be aged between 18 and 60 years; 17 year olds must have a parent's / guardian consent and up to 65 must be regular donor. Females can donate every four months; Males can donate every three months. A person must weight at least 50kg (110 lb).

Blood donation is about about a few minutes of your time. It's About Life.

Quick Facts: - Blood donation is safe. - Giving blood will not decrease your health. - One or two serious accidents are often enough to drain our blood stocks. - Over 300,000 people in Malta can donate blood but barely 5% do. - Nearly 300 grievous traffic accidents occur in Malta every year, 17 of which are fatal. - For a sick person who needs transfusion, blood may be the difference between life and death. - Our body replenishes controlled blood loss by itself. - You cannot get AIDS or any other infectious disease by donating blood. - About 1 in 7 people entering a hospital need blood. - Approximately 40 to 50 units of blood are needed daily to meet the demands from hospitals. - Scrupulous tests are carried out on every single donation.

More information can be found on http://www.health.gov.mt/nbts/faqs.htm