Staff and students at Robert Gordon University will have the opportunity to sign the organ, blood and bone marrow registers on campus next week.
Teams from The Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service, the Anthony Nolan Trust, and NHS Grampian will visit RGU on Thursday, February 25.
The initiative, which has been organised by the Student Association's fundraising arm, RGU:RAG, aims to increase the number of staff and students who currently donate blood and who are on the organ and bone marrow donor lists.
Information stalls will be set up with leaflets and registration forms in each university building. There will also be a clinic set up in the Faculty of Health Building to take saliva samples from those who qualify.
Students who would like to give blood on the day can visit a blood donation clinic at Studio 3 in RGU Sport between 11am and 3pm.
The initiative comes after the NHS has reported a serious shortage of blood and organ donors.
Only four per cent of the UK population donates blood regularly and an additional 225,000 donors are needed each year to meet current needs.
Becoming an organ donor can help saving up to nine lives, while signing up for the bone marrow register would provide help for those fighting blood cancer and various blood diseases.
Those interested in signing up will need to provide their names and addresses and will be added to the database doctors use to search for donors.
Marty McGouran, Chairman of RGU: RAG, said: “Giving blood and signing up to the organ and bone marrow registers can make a huge difference to others and I’d like to encourage students and staff to find out more about it.
“It is very important for as many people as possible to give blood and becoming a donor is not something that requires much time or effort. We are also looking for RGU volunteers to help at the information stalls throughout the day.
“We hope to see lots of people sign up as this is a great opportunity to help other people who are in need.”
For more information, please visit the RGU:RAG Facebook page: www.facebook.com/events/187606311595234/