Thousands of Polish workers will this week take part in a mass blood donation to promote British-Polish relations and demonstrate the value of the Polish expat community to British society.
The campaign, dubbed #PolishBlood, was designed to be a positive display of strength taking place as an alternative to a planned unofficial strike.
Numbers pledging to take part in the donation, on 20 August, continue to rise and the support on social media is gaining momentum under the hashtag #PolishBlood.
The strike action, planned for the same day and backed by Polish newspaper Polish Express, is expected to protest against the way migrants are often used as scapegoats for the UK’s economic issues. A red t-shirt produced for the protest states: “Enough! Stop blaming us.”
Chair of the Labour Friends of Poland, Ella Vine, blogged that the Polish Blood campaign shows that “Polish and migrant energy can be harnessed to achieve positive things”. “That is what we should be aiming for. Not for division, not for hatred, not for inequality – but for inclusiveness, positivity and tolerance,” she wrote.
Andrzej Rygielski, from Kent, told the Independent: “I would like to donate my blood as I know that Great Britain needs it. And people’s lives are too important to ignore this call.”
A spokesperson for NHS Blood and Transplant told FPJ that all potential donors should make sure they book an appointment as there are limited walk-in slots available.
“NHS Blood and Transplantis grateful to the Polish community for their pledge to donate on the 20thAugust,' the spokesperson said. 'We would urge new and existing donors to register and book an appointment to donate, rather than just turn up to attend a session without an appointment. Blood donation sessions are planned to meet patient need and are scheduled several months in advance.There are limited appointments available each day. Registering and searching for available appointments is easy - simply visitwww.blood.co.uk.'
George Byczynski, co-ordinator of the British Poles Initiative, which is promoting the #Polishblood campaign, told theIndependent: “Everybody will find something for themselves in this protest. It’s a purely positive thing to foster the British/Polish relations.”
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