At more than 500 workplaces people are already allowed to donate blood during working hours
More and more workplaces are participating in helping patients by allowing blood donation during work time. The Finnish Red Cross Blood Service’s Workplace Certificate is now in use at over 500 workplaces across Finland.
The workplace certificate is an acknowledgment granted to an organization if it permits its employees to donate blood during work hours. In practice, this means employees may visit the nearest blood donation site during the workday.
“The certificate is a clear way for employers to demonstrate commitment to social responsibility and staff wellbeing. It highlights how workplaces and companies can impact Finland’s healthcare and concretely help patients,” says Partnership Manager Hille Nylander from the Blood Service.
Through voluntary participation, work communities can also help ensure societal responsiveness in times of crisis.
Concrete help with little effort
Toyota Auto Finland is one of hundreds of workplaces where donating blood during work hours has been very positively received.
“We want to offer employees an easy and concrete way to help, and blood donation is an excellent opportunity for that. We ordered a Blood Donation Bus to our company parking lot, and it has been wonderful to see that staff actively participate — including first‑timers. Going forward, our employees will also have the option to donate blood during work hours independently, as we want to make helping as effortless as possible. We believe this is a meaningful and impactful way to support society and show responsibility in practice,” says Annele Puumalainen, Business Support Specialist at Toyota Auto Finland Oy.
Goal: 22,000 new blood donors by 2025
The popularity of the workplace certificate has grown steadily since its introduction in 2023.
“500 workplace certificates is a good start, but the potential is many times greater, as Finland has tens of thousands of employers,” Nylander notes.
Currently, only about 3% of people of donation age donate blood annually. The Blood Service’s goal is to recruit over 20,000 new donors this year as well, to ensure the availability of blood products for all patients.
“Work communities can play an important role here. Giving blood once a year is a significant act and takes about one hour. We encourage workplaces across Finland to join in,” says Hille Nylander.
In Finland, blood is donated on average 1.6 times per year. The practical impact on working time is thus small, but the benefit to patients is great.
The certificate is easy to adopt
Implementing the workplace certificate is free, and each organization can define how to practically enable donation during work hours. An employer could, for example, allow employees to use one hour per year for giving blood.
The workplace certificate is activated through the Blood Service’s website. From the same address, one can find a list of participating workplaces and tips on organizing blood donations in work communities.
