Traditionally, medical, biomedical and bioengineering students organize Leuven Bloedserieus in November. This year it will take place from the 16th of November till the 19th. During this week we organize blood collections together with the Red Cross.

The goal of ‘ Bloedserieus ’ is to attract new, young donors: the students of Leuven. The organisers hope that when students become a blood donor from the age of 18, the legal age in Belgium, they won’t hesitate to go to blood collections during the rest of your life. That way the Red Cross can create a whole new pool of donors as blood is often really necessary to save lives. The efforts have been successful: during the past 3 years ‘ Bloedserieus ’ had more than 2,000 donors.

To thank and support the blood donors, ‘ Bloedserieus ’ also organizes lots of cool activities during this week. There is a quiz, a movie night, a concert and a party. The donors get a discount or even a free entry. You also receive a bag full of surprises offered by the Red Cross and our sponsors.

A very important issue is the safety of the blood products. To assure this safety there are some restrictions for foreigners. For people who are born or have lived for a long time out of Europe, there is a period of 28 days in which they are not allowed to donate blood. For people who lived in a country where malaria is still prevalent this period extends to minimum 3 years. For people who lived in South and middle Africa or in Asia the period extends up to 5 years. And there is a permanent restriction for all those who have migrated from South or Middle America since 2000.

All these restrictions are due to pure medical reasons. In all these countries some diseases are much more prevalent than in Europe and it’s not simple to screen for them.

So don’t hesitate to come at least take a look in one of the blood collecting points during this week. If you want to become a blood donor, it’s better to make an appointment on line, so you can avoid to queue for a long time.

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