In celebration of its 160th anniversary, the Odessa National University named after I. I. Mechnikov organized the event «Become a Donor! Save a Life!» with the participation of the administration, staff union, and student union.

This initiative is part of the university's project «HEALTH, MOVEMENT, EDUCATION — the university lives and acts».

«The goal of the event is to gather 160 donors in honor of our university's anniversary, uniting the community to help military personnel and those in need,» said Vadim Penov, the initiator of the campaign and associate professor of physiology and human safety.

Blood collection will take place on the university's premises with the involvement of medical staff from the Odessa Regional Blood Transfusion Station.

The campaign began at the ONU branch in Shampanskij Lane and will continue next week in the library and other university buildings.

Students, faculty, and staff eagerly participated in the blood donation. Over 70 individuals donated blood within the first two days of the event. Each participant received a reward from the «Donor Odessa» project — a sticker featuring Sonya the cat, the project's mascot.

Additionally, the «Donor Odessa» project held informative discussions on common questions regarding blood donation with students from the Vocational College and members of the Scientific Council of the biological faculty.

The activities promoting blood donation at Mechnikov University were conducted as part of the municipal charity project «Weeks of Good Deeds».

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Since the beginning of the full-scale war, the «Donor Odessa» project has been instrumental in recruiting blood donors for the city's medical institutions. More than 12,000 blood donations have been made thanks to the project.
A large-scale informational campaign to promote blood donation and inform about current blood needs is being actively supported by the Department of Information of the Odessa City Council. This is facilitated through the Telegram channel «Odessa.Officially» and the MISTO mobile application, available for download via the link.