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Maersk Oil wins award for encouraging new donors to save a life

A LEADING Aberdeen-based oil operator has won an award for encouraging their staff to give blood.

Maersk Oil North Sea UK Limited (Maersk Oil) will be presented with an award for having the highest percentage of new blood donors in a Give Blood campaign targeted at the oil and energy sector.

More than 100 of Maersk Oil staff attended blood donor sessions in the last year as part of the Energy Industry Blood Challenge. 67 of those were donating for the first time or returning to donate after a break of two years or more. In total, of all those who attended, 92 units of blood were collected.

As each unit can be split in three component parts, in the last 12 months Maersk Oil donors have potentially helped save or improve the lives of 276 transfusion patients.

Maersk Oil will attend the annual awards ceremony at Aberdeen’s Beach Ballroom tonight (Tuesday October 25th) where they will be recognised for their commitment to the campaign.

Celia Macdonald, human resources director at Maersk Oil, said: “Maersk Oil is delighted to be part of this important campaign. Taking part in this challenge means we are giving something back to the community and potentially saving and improving people’s lives.

“I would encourage any one who can give blood to make the effort to donate, it’s quick and easy and you can help improve the lives of others – just three teaspoons of blood can save the life of a premature baby.

“Maersk Oil will continue to do what we can to ensure people can receive the treatment they need.”

Now in its eighth year, the campaign provides north-east energy sector companies and their employees with the opportunity to put something special back in to the local community – the gift of life.

The challenge requires companies to actively encourage their employees to become blood donors and give them the time away from work to donate.

The Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) keeps track of the donations made my employees registered with the challenge.

The companies with the highest number of attendances, highest number of platelet donations, highest points percentage per employee, highest percentage of new donors, and the highest percentage of ‘O’ negative donations then receive awards.

The co-ordinated contribution from Maersk Oil makes a huge difference in meeting the long term needs of Scotland’s Transfusion patients.

Maersk Oil is one of just 59 companies who registered in the Challenge, yet together, they are responsible for providing approximately 10% of the north-east’s annual blood collection.

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