Employees bleed for a good cause

Blood Donation at the Max Planck Institut für Kohlenforschung

Prof. Tobias Ritter initiates a blood donation campaign at the MPI, emphasizing the ease of participation for institute members and community involvement.

Beds instead of desks and blood instead of books: it is an unusual sight on this Friday afternoon in the Small Lecture Hall of the Max Planck Institut für Kohlenforschung. Where scientists usually discuss their research, a large blood donation campaign is being held by the Red Cross in cooperation with service clubs (Lions, Rotary, Rotaract from Mülheim, and several Lions clubs from Essen) – the first in the institute's history.

Around 7,000 blood reserves are needed annually by hospitals in the city of Mülheim – the majority of which are used to treat cancer patients, according to the Red Cross. “The blood donation appointments in Mülheim only yield around 2,700 blood donations per year, which means that self-sufficiency cannot be guaranteed,” says Nina Rasche, district manager of the Red Cross in Mülheim. The campaign at the MPI has now added around 100 donations.

The high demand for blood reserves, not only in Mülheim, is reason enough for the institute to get involved: “I thought about what we could do to benefit the community,” says Prof. Tobias Ritter, director at the MPI and initiator of the campaign. He believes that many people are willing to donate blood, but often their everyday lives do not allow them to do so. “By bringing the donation campaign to the institute, we are creating an opportunity.”

From the smooth registration process and the mandatory medical consultation to the lovingly prepared refreshments after the actual blood donation: perfectly organized by the volunteers of the Red Cross, the donation is indeed a great opportunity for MPI employees to get involved. After donating, many are willing to give blood again in the future.

From the perspective of the Lions and Rotary clubs, this is also a great activity that shows what can be achieved through joint action. “Tobias Ritter is activity officer in our club – and he told me about this idea in the summer of 2025,” reports Rene Neust, president of the Lions Club Mülheim-Ruhr/Hellweg. Once the date had been set, it quickly became clear that this could be a major campaign, so contact was made with other Lions and Rotary clubs in the region to recruit more donors. “This allows us to do a lot of good with relatively little effort – with the positive side effect of further networking with each other,” explains Rene Neust.

“This kind of campaign is extremely important to us because it allows us to attract many first-time donors,” says Thomas Herzfeld, head of the donation organization department at the Blood Donation Service. Although the Red Cross has many loyal blood donors in Mülheim, some of them are gradually dropping out due to age or illness. “So we are delighted to have new recruits at the Max Planck Institute.”

After the successful premiere, everyone involved is optimistic that this will not be the last blood donation drive at the MPI. “We can definitely imagine repeating the donation campaign every year,” says Tobias Ritter – who was one of the first to give blood on this day.