More than 150 companies commit to 'Enterprise with a big heart'

Companies commit to life-saving plasma donations

The "Enterprise with a Big Heart" campaign, an initiative of Belgian Red Cross-Flanders in partnership with Voka, continues to gain momentum. The goal of the campaign is to increase plasma reserves needed for life-saving medication and treatments. Since its launch in May of this year, more than 150 companies have already subscribed to the campaign. The enthusiasm within the business community for this initiative shows the importance of collective efforts to support health care in Flanders.

The need for plasma: an indispensable resource

The demand for plasma continues to rise annually, underscoring how crucial these donations are to treating patients with immune disorders and severe burns, among others."Plasma is literally vital!" emphasizes Professor Daan Dierickx, hematologist at UZ Leuven."The possibilities of providing life-saving treatments with plasma are enormous, but that requires sufficient plasma and therefore very many donors."

 By encouraging companies to mobilize their employees to donate plasma, Belgian Red Cross-Flanders aims to reduce dependence on foreign plasma imports and eventually become 100% self-sufficient, as is already the case with blood.

Fritz Schiltz, Director of Policy Support & Projects at Belgian Red Cross-Flanders, states, "We are delighted that already 150 companies are participating in 'Enterprise with a Big Heart'. This shows the enormous power of cooperation within the business community. We hope this number continues to grow so that together we can save even more lives."

 Sanofi is also one of the companies actively participating in the initiative. Evi Dekegel, communications manager at Sanofi says, "As a company that wants to make an impact, we see it as our responsibility to encourage our employees to participate in social projects like this one. This is the 6th year in a row for us to motivate employees to donate plasma. They can do this at various Red Cross donor centers during working hours."

The call to businesses remains loud

With the "Company with a big heart" project, Voka and Belgian Red Cross-Flanders want to encourage companies to motivate their employees - individually or as a team - to come and give plasma. Companies can easily participate in the project by registering on the website of Belgian Red Cross-Flanders. After registering, the company will receive a unique link and a promotional poster with QR code to facilitate employee participation. Employees are encouraged to donate plasma as a group, for example during their lunch break or as team building. Individual donations are, of course, always welcome as well.

 Every company with registered donations receives the label "Company with a big heart" anyway. This label shows to the outside world the company's social commitment. Daily records are kept of how many employees of participating companies have donated. Companies with the highest percentage of donors are ranked higher. In May 2025, the top companies per donor center will be awarded the "Company with the Biggest Heart" label.