“Asclepius-One Health” participated in the Opening Ceremony of the 21st Panhellenic Blood Donors Torch Relay as a gesture of support for an action with a deep social and symbolic content.
The Opening Ceremony was hosted at the premises of the National Blood Donation Centre on Friday 28 July and “Asclepius-One Health” was represented by its President Eleni Pavlidou.
In her address, Mrs. Pavlidou expressed her wholehearted support for actions aimed at the continuous offer to the fellow human being and pointed out that “Asclepius-One Health” is close to every initiative of social sensitivity such as voluntary blood donation and its multidimensional and universal messages.
As the organizers of the event pointed out, “the flame of Love has started another hopeful journey, where hundreds of volunteer blood donors will carry it from hand to hand, in every city of Greece, conveying the message of voluntary blood donation”.
The event began with a greeting by the President of the National Blood Donation Centre Panagiotis Katsivelas, followed by remarks by the Secretary General of Health Services of the Ministry of Health, Mrs. Lilian Vilviridi, the President of the Panhellenic Federation of Voluntary Blood Donor Associations-POSEA Christos Protopapas, the Mayor of Acharnai Spyros Vrettos, the Regional Governor of Attica Giorgos Patoulis, the President of the Hellenic Red Cross Antonis Avgerinos, the President of the Sikiarideion Foundation Mrs. Korina Liouta etc.
The event was also attended by representatives of authorities and institutions such as the Director of the Police Directorate of Western Attica, Brigadier General Lycourgos Bitsakakis as a representative of the Chief of Hellenic Police, the General Secretary of the Municipality of Acharnai, Yiannis Dimitrakopoulos, as a representative of the Panhellenic Association of General Secretaries of Local Government “Kleisthenis”, the Deputy General Secretary of the Hellenic Thalassaemia Federation Olga Kakaraki etc.
With the blessings of His Eminence the Metropolitan Athinagoras of Ilion, Acharnai and Petroupoli and the accompaniment of the band of the Hellenic Police Headquarters, the altar of the “Flame of Love” was lit and passed to the first Torchbearer, Blood Donation Coordinator, and Nurse-Trainer of the Hellenic Red Cross Maria Kourkoulakou.
