Bermuda Hospitals Board and the Ministry of Health today announced Bacardi as the winner of the 2018/19 Corporate Blood Drive as part of the celebrations of World Blood Donor Day. The revolving trophy and certificate were awarded to Bacardi by the Hon. Kim Wilson JP MP, Minister of Health.

“We are very pleased to celebrate Bacardi, who have won the Corporate Blood Drive for the last three consecutive years,” says Dr Eyitayo Fakunle, Consultant Haematologist at BHB. “It was a keen contest this year and I’d also like to recognise Butterfield & Vallis, Bermuda Police Service, Argo Ariel Re and Sunlife Financial. The staff of the companies worked together as a team to ensure the success of the friendly competition!”

Dr Fakunle says: “It is important to recognize all the competitors not just about the winner: it is the collective effort that makes a difference. We had a record number of 21 participating companies and this resulted in a record number of donations. If we total all the donations together, the competing companies contributed nearly a third of all blood donations made. We cannot emphasise enough that this competition is saving lives and we very much hope more businesses will consider joining. We would also like to thank the employers who might not be in the competition, but who still support their staff coming to donate.”

The competing companies this year were: Aon, Argo Ariel Re, Bacardi, Bermuda Police Service, Bermuda Post Office, Butterfield Bank, Butterfield & Vallis, Chubb, Colonial Group, Deloitte, Department of Corrections, Fidelity, Hamilton Insurance Group, Hamilton Princess & Beach Club, Kiston Group of Companies, Lancashire Insurance, Marketplace, Marsh McLennan, Sunlife Financial, Validus and XL Catlin.

Dr Cheryl Peek-Ball, Chief Medical Officer, Ministry of Health, adds: “This is such an important competition, ensuring we can continue to care for people with conditions such cancer and sickle cell, and respond to patient needs in surgical and emergency situations. Thank you to all the competing companies and congratulations to Bacardi for their third win in a row! There is a lot of passion and dedication behind that winning streak. Finally, Bermuda’s appreciation must be extended to all the competing companies. Know that you are part of a collective that is saving lives every day.”

Companies who wish to join or find out more about the competition for 2019/20 should call the Blood Donor Centre at 236-5067, or email blood.donor@bhb.bm.

• Press release from Bermuda Hospitals Board and the Ministry of Health