Posted by Haagen P. Cumlet

The International Federation of Blood Donor Organizations (FIODS) has invited Rotary International to co-operate in order to promote voluntary blood donation world-wide. Global Network for Blood Donation, a Rotarian Action Group, has used the opportunity to award FIOD's president, Mr. Niels Mikkelsen, a PHF for "reaching out to Rotary".

President Niels Mikkelsen from the International Federation of Blood Donor Organizations (FIODS) met with Rotary International's 2009-10 president, John Kenny, at the Birmingham Convention in order to promote a co-operation between Rotary and FIODS.

At the meeting, the FIODS president laid out a number of suggestions for a broader involvement by Rotary International in the life-saving and life-improving endevaur of non-remunerated blood donation world-wide.

It is estimated that blood donor drives in Rotary clubs and districts around the world bring in more than one per cent of the world's annual blood supply of 80 million units, thus making Rotary an important player in providing donor blood to blood banks and hospitals. Potentially, the one per cent amounts to what is needed to save or improve the lives of more than two million patients annually.

The meeting between the FIODS president and the incoming RI president was arranged by Global Network for Blood Donation, a Rotarian Action Group, and lasted almost 20 minutes. The meeting took place at John Kenny's convention office. 

In addition to his post a FIODS president, Mr. Niels Mikkelsen serves as Secretary General for the national  Danish Blood Donor Association.   He is a former diplomat, and shares with John Kenny a background as a laywer.

Recently, Mr. Niels Mikkelsen was appointed as a member of the GNBD Strategic Planning Committee. He was invited to Birmingham by GNBD to speak at a breakout session (symposium) on voluntary blood donation and blood donor projects within Rotary.  

At the breakout session, Mr. Niels Mikkelsen, who is not a Rotarian, was awarded the distinction "Paul Harris Fellow" by the host organization, GNBD.

He received the distinction for, in the words of GNBD President Haagen P. Cumlet, "reaching out to Rotary" in his capacity as President for FIODS. The award was sponsered by the Rotary E-club London Centenary, UK, and presented by the E-club's President-elect, Axel Brodehl.

The International Federation of Blood Donor Organizations has named a special liasion to Rotary with regard to blood donor projects in clubs and districts. The liaison is PDG Olafur Helgi Kjartansson from Iceland (District 1360). Currently, Olafur Kjartansson serves as FIODS Treasurer General and as President of the Icelandic Blood Donors Society.

The International Federation of Blood Donor Organizations (FIODS) is one of the major health organizations in charge of the World Blood Donor Day, June 14. The other ones are the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT). The World Health Organization (WHO)  is co-sponsoring the WBDD event.

Between the four health organizations, they represent 192 Member States, 181 national Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, 50 national voluntary blood donor organizations and blood transfusion specialists throughout the world. Rotary International is one of the world's largest service organizations with 1.2 million members in 33,000 clubs in more than 200 countries and geographical areas.

At the Birmingham convention, GNBD was also represented by an exhibition booth at the House of Friendship. Of the several hundred visitors to the booth close to 240 signed up as members, bringing our membership up to more than 950 individuals by the end of Rotary year 2008-09 - since the start of GNBD in late 2006. A number of GNBD initiatives based upon suggestions from  new members, who signed up at the GNBD exhibition booth, and others, are expected in the year to come.

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 "Through our local efforts at the club level, Rotary has become one of the world's largest forces in voluntary blood donation.  Our efforts help save lives on the same scale as our polio eradication efforts." - PDG Chuck Kurtzman, Co-founder of Global Network for Blood Donation, a Rotarian Action Group, and GNBD's first president.

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Footnotes:

Niels Mikkelsen can be contacted at the e-mail address mikkelsen@bloddonor.dk . Website: www.fiods.org.

Olafur Kjartansson can be contacted at the e-mail address: OlafurHelgi.Kjartansson@tmd.is

Photo from the meeting between Niels Mikkelsen and John Kenny, click here, and go to the Photo journal for the rest of our pictures.

The GNBD convention folder can be seen by clicking here or under DOWNLOADS.