At the Nice Donation House, the vintage week has been set up until Saturday, November 29th. With arcade machines, vinyl records, and retro activities, the French Blood Establishment aims to retain donors and remind them of the importance of a simple gesture.
The Nice Donation House is experiencing a special week. Since Monday, donors have walked into a retro atmosphere with vintage week. An arcade machine occupies the reception area. A record player offers a selection of 33 RPM records. The teams have also decorated the venue and prepared snacks inspired by this atmosphere, with popcorn and hot dogs.
This week is part of a regional program led by the French Blood Establishment (EFS) PACA–Corse. The idea emerged from an internal exchange among the various donation houses in the region. Each service is invited to contribute ideas during brainstorming sessions.
The campaign began on Monday and continues until Saturday November 29th. As of today, some of the activities have already taken place, particularly on the Valbonne and Nice campuses. Other mobile collections are still scheduled for Friday, including those at Valbonne – Laffitte campus – and Cannes.
In Nice, the teams have rallied local partners. A company specializing in arcade machines provided its games. Photo accessories and some old devices complete the ambiance. The employees aimed to create a simple, accessible setting so that donors feel welcomed.
A Necessary Gesture and a Campaign to Ensure Loyalty
The EFS organizes several thematic weeks throughout the year. “We do about 2-3 per year at each donation house,” reveals Endrea Ktorza Buggiani, responsible for territory development at the Nice donation house. “The goal is to create loyalty events for our existing donors to animate our donation house, to offer new things, and to leave a lasting impression on the donors on-site. We hope they will talk about it around them and possibly bring in donors who would not have come if it were not for this on-site activity.”
Blood donation remains central, but the need for plasma is increasing. “Blood donation is more familiar to people, it is more common in people’s language when we talk about blood donation, but it’s true that we have quite a few objectives for plasma donation, which we need much more at the moment. We try to communicate about both each time, highlighting plasma donation.”
This type of donation is less known but “is just as important, and so if we manage to include it in our events and our communication, it will ensure that more people become familiar with this type of donation.”
Since the beginning of the week, the feedback has been positive. “Donors really appreciate having this little extra, and it has touched all generations (…) it has pleased all our ranges of donors, both young and older.”
The PACA region faces strong demand. Several factors explain this pressure. “I think we don’t have much of a culture of donation,” adds Endrea Ktorza Buggiani, “we also have an aging population, and indeed, we have more needs, we have large University Hospitals, we have large oncology centers, so we consume a lot of blood products in the PACA region.”
Meanwhile, the local associative fabric is more limited. “We have a few, but they are very aging as well, and unfortunately, not as many as in other regions,” the territory development manager notes.
The vintage week thus serves to maintain public attention, as winter leads to a decrease in collection attendance. The final message remains simple. “Do not hesitate, do not hesitate to step in (…) The donation itself lasts 10 minutes; the whole process takes an hour (…) as long as we are young, healthy, and well, if we can do it, there’s no reason to hesitate.” It’s up to you!
