The third and final three-day voluntary blood donation drive of 2026 on Leros ended with an exceptionally strong turnout, yielding 273 units of blood, donations from 69 first-time donors and 50 samples from prospective bone marrow donors.
In a statement, the Leros Volunteer Blood Donors Association thanked everyone who helped make the drive a success and announced that its next event will take place on 19, 20 and 21 March 2027.
The association’s statement in full:
We are delighted to announce the conclusion of our third and final three-day voluntary blood donation drive of 2026. It was a historic event for our association: a total of 273 units of blood were collected, including donations from 69 volunteers giving blood for the first time. We also collected 50 samples from prospective bone marrow donors, bringing the year’s total to 136.
We were particularly moved by the participation of so many young people, as well as schools, Sunday school groups, organisations and associations, who came to the drive and spoke of how rewarding it was to contribute.
We would like to offer our heartfelt thanks to:
• The team from Hippokrateio Hospital in Athens
• Stamatis Kardasis, director of the Leros State Hospital
• I Thraka (Giannis Manisis)
• LA PALMA Café (Lefteris, Valantis and Alexis Tsiofylas)
• My Microland (Isidora Grylli)
• VRETTOS MARKET (Vrettos Kalandranis)
• RENT A CAR GIANNAKOS (Kostis Giannakos)
• Konstantinidis Opticians (Manolis and Angelos Konstantinidis)
• BEST COVER Insurance (Stella Arapi)
• GRAFI PRINT (Stamatis Papaeleftheriou)
• To Steki Bookshop (Petros Konstantaras)
• Leros Tactical Store (Panagiotis Remboulis)
• Sip It Café (Leonidas Ilias and Spyros Giannakos)
• L’angolo Coffee and More
• Mr Giorgos Bakas
• Ms Angeliki Karakosta
The associations and organisations that took part as organised groups were:
• The Holy Metropolis of Leros, Kalymnos and Astypalaia
• Leros Motorcycle Club
• Leros General Upper Secondary School
• Leros Vocational Upper Secondary School (EPAL)
• Leros Evening Lower Secondary School
• Leros Sports Union
• Iones Leros Tennis Club
• Panionios Leros
• Leros K.P.E.A. ‘Artemis’
• DECAFIT gym
• Leros Youth Sports Club
• Leros School of Higher Vocational Training (SAEK)
• The Women Without Borders association
• Leros Hikers
• The ‘Saint Savvas the New’ Charitable Association of Leros
Our special thanks go to three people whose constant support, invaluable help and selfless commitment mean they are always there for our association: Ilias Aslanidis, Stamatis Papaeleftheriou and Panagiotis Remboulis.
Finally, we would like to thank all our blood donors, both longstanding and new, for their invaluable contribution and the gift of life they offer. We would also like to apologise for the waiting times on the final day of the drive, when turnout exceeded all our expectations. Thank you for your understanding and patience.
We remain committed to the same vision: promoting voluntary blood donation and strengthening a culture of giving in our community.
Thank you all. We look forward to seeing you at our first three-day drive of 2027, on 19–21 March.
GIVE BLOOD – GIVE LIFE
Yours sincerely,
On behalf of the Board of Directors
President
Savvas Konstantinidis
General Secretary
Valentina Akoglani
