DONATE BLOOD WITH AMU

The Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (AMU) and the Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion (ÚHKT) have joined forces in the field of education on blood donation and recruitment of donors from among AMU students and employees. As part of playing its third role, AMU is now focusing on the healthcare sector, for which voluntary and free-of-charge blood donations are indispensable, and not just when saving lives. On the part of the donors, it is also a profound display of human solidarity and the willingness to help others. The collaboration between AMU and ÚHKT is not arbitrary – both institutions are connected on a personal level, as the Secretary of the Director of ÚHKT Andrea Daňková is also an alumna of the Theatre Faculty of AMU (DAMU).

DAMU students are actively involved in the collaboration between AMU and ÚHKT as blood donors. Several of them donated blood at ÚHKT’s donor centre (U Nemocnice 2094, Prague 2) on 6 October.

In addition to expanding the donor register with new members, the cooperation between the two institutions has yet another dimension. This includes a lecture to be delivered by the Head of ÚHKT Jan Loužil on the topic of blood donation, organised for students and employees across AMU. The lecture will take place on 11 October from 3 pm as part of a warm-up event for the 4th AMU Environmental Day organised annually by the AMU Environmental Panel.

Jan Hančil, Vice-Rector of AMU for International Relationships, Artistic Activities and Graduate and Public Relations, explains the origin and the purpose of the collaboration as follows: “The collaboration came about by accident, but it is a perfect fit with the other events that we organise at AMU. We have equipped all our buildings with automated external defibrillators (AED), organised several training sessions on first aid and the use of the AED, and held a workshop focused on breast self-examination. When preparing a series of articles for AMU’s social media, we found out that our alumna Andrea Daňková works as the secretary at ÚHKT, and it just made perfect sense to join forces and educate and motivate donors (and especially young people who are sorely needed) to donate blood.”

“We want to thank AMU for this collaboration. We believe this project will result in an increased number of our donors, and we hope to further expand these activities in the future and inspire donors elsewhere in the Czech Republic,” says Jan Loužil, Head of ÚHKT’s Transfusiology Section Team.

ÚHKT has been operating for more than 70 years as a first-rate medicine and research centre. Leading physicians treat patients with serious haemato-oncology conditions and other rare blood diseases. A team of experienced scientists study haematogenesis and its disorders and conduct research into the most efficient methods of treatment. ÚHKT’s track record in both fields is among the best in the field.