President recognises Brandix as Sri Lanka’s largest blood donor

Saturday, 15 June 2013 01:20 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Brandix has been recognised at the highest level as the largest private sector blood donor in Sri Lanka, in acknowledgement of an aggregate 10,000 pints of blood donated voluntarily by the group’s employees.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa presented a plaque of appreciation to Brandix Chief People Officer Ishan Dantanarayana at Temple Trees yesterday – World Blood Donor Day – at a national felicitation ceremony organised by the National Blood Transfusion Service (NTBS) to pay tribute to its largest contributors.

Brandix, which commenced an annual organised blood collection drive across the group’s manufacturing plants in Sri Lanka in 2007, has now been recognised as the largest corporate donor for three successive years, 2010, 2011 and 2012. Top contributors to the NTBS were recognised under three categories at the felicitation event namely individual, religious organisation and private sector.

Brandix Director Feroz Omar said the group sets aside six to 10 weeks of the year for its blood collection campaigns conducted in collaboration with the National Blood Transfusion Service. All donations are voluntary and on a non-remunerated basis.

“The response of our associates to this initiative has always been inspiring,” he said. “A strong sense of altruism and nation-mindedness is very evident at all levels in the organisation, and the corporate management of Brandix has extended its endorsement and fullest support to expand the campaign each year.”

Officials of the NTBS noted that similar donations over a significant time period are necessary to meet the organisation’s requirements. By being geographically widespread, the Brandix campaign increases supplies of blood in many areas, including those that do not usually receive donations of significant volume compared with areas like Colombo.

Brandix’s blood donation campaigns are also extra significant as they are conducted on weekdays instead of the general norm of weekends. This is particularly helpful in sustaining blood platelets, which have a lifespan of five days, for use during the course of the week.

According to the NTBS, about 97% of the 350,000 pints collected by the service annually comes from voluntary non-remunerated donations.

Sri Lanka’s largest single exporter of apparel, the Brandix Group employs more than 43,000 people at 42 manufacturing plants in Sri Lanka, at a 1,000 acre industrial park in India and a large operation in Bangladesh.

The group is credited with being the pioneer of the concept of ‘total solutions’ in the country’s apparel sector and is also a global leader in eco-friendly apparel manufacture. In a related health initiative, Brandix has been supporting the National Occupational Safety and Health Week and the causes it represents for the last five years.