Heroes Among Us: Employees Reduce Blood Shortage Associated With COVID-19

Heroes Among Us: Employees Reduce Blood Shortage Associated with COVID-19

At Pratt & Whitney, we’re committed to supporting the communities in which we live and work, and that doesn’t change during the coronavirus pandemic. Our employees are aiding relief efforts during this global health emergency -- donating supplies, money and time. Over the next several weeks, we’ll be highlighting the COVID-19 relief efforts of our employees from around the world, starting with those at Pratt & Whitney sites in Poland.

Nearly 300 members of Pratt & Whitney’s Blood Donation Club responded to the appeals of the regional blood donation and blood treatment centers recently, adding to the nearly 700 liters of blood the group donates annually.

“Our employees have declared their readiness to donate blood,” said Ryszard Szyszka, head of the Blood Donation Club at Pratt & Whitney’s site in Rzeszów. “They’re committed to the Regional Blood Donation and Blood Treatment Center. They stand ready.”

That readiness is especially vital now as the world faces blood shortages associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

"In such difficult times, more than ever before, you want to help others in any way you can, especially now when a large number of people are not donating blood because they must stay indoors or are afraid to leave their homes due to the pandemic,” said Rzeszów employee and club secretary Darius Winiarski. “This is my way of helping in this difficult and dangerous time for us all.”

Blood drive efforts are not new to members of the Blood Donation Club, as they host a blood donation event on the campus each year. Yet in these challenging times, the health of donors is of the utmost importance, too. Throughout the nearly two dozen donor locations across Poland, the strictest and most stringent sterilization processes are being followed.

“Ensuring safety for blood donors is essential, as the health of the people who are in need of blood depends on it,” said Sławek Kieszczyński of Pratt & Whitney’s site in Kalisz.

Rzeszów employee Franciszek Gołębiowski found his call to donate blood through local media and online. “Who knows whose life can be saved?” he said. “I encourage everyone to donate blood.”