I donated blood for the first time while I was serving in the army in 1983. Since then, I have donated blood 96 times in total. When I returned from the army, I continued to regulary donate blood within the actions organized by the company in which I work.

I have never divided people by race, skin colour, nationality. I never cared who got the blood. The only thing that matters to me is helping someone. Because we are all the same - when you need blood, there is no difference. I try to convey to young people that donating blood is healthy for the donor himself, and then, owing to that donation, people’s lives are saved.

When I came to Hemofarm, the members of the section got involved and since 2005 started keeping a list of employees who are also voluntary blood donors. More and more people responded to each of our drives, who did not care to whom the blood went; it only mattered to them that they helped someone. Today, that list has over 600 active members, people employed by Hemofarm, who regularly donate blood. New voluntary donors appear at every drive, which makes me very proud. I will retire in 2025, and I must say that I am especially glad to leave behind a legacy that I have been a part of this section that will continue to spread humanity and solidarity. The most important thing is the network of donors that we created. Today, it enables us to react in an instant, to donate blood and save a life. This covers not only employees, but also their families at a given moment.

Apart from being an act of humanity, donating blood is also healthy. After donating blood, I feel better and stronger. I am naturally an athletic type, and I think that it was beneficial for my body to regularly donate blood. To date, I have donated blood 96 times, that is, I have changed the entire blood in my body six times, and that is an excellent knowledge. Unfortunately, due to my health, I am no longer able to donate blood as of one year ago.

We were very pleased to join the global Caring Day initiative, which was attended by over 50 people in Vršac. That's not a small number, although I always joke that it could be better. We are a big company, we are constantly hiring new people, so my philosophy is aligned with that - it always can and must be better. Colleagues often joke with me because of this. They gave me the nickname ‘Dracula ‘and they often ask me: ‘Dracula, when are we donating blood?’. They say that I have a good public appearance and the power of persuasion when it comes to donating blood, and jokingly repeat that I am a ‘bloodsucker ‘. For me, at the end of the day, the only important thing is that people take care of each other, that they show solidarity and humanity to one another.

I am glad that our company, Hemofarm, has always been able to reward and recognize humanity of people. Weekend get-togethers are organized for people when we go somewhere together and those are unforgettable moments for us. We have a good time, and the company shows that it cares about us, its employees. In addition, each donor receives a t-shirt with each donation as a small sign of appreciation.

I would conclude by saying that a company is healthy and successful as long as its employees are healthy; or, if you have a blood donor, that means that you have a healthy employee.