Donating blood is one of the simplest and most powerful things a person can do: a few minutes in a chair can keep alive someone you'll never meet. No medicine can replace human blood, it can only come from another human being willing to give it. That's why Pathfinder clubs, together with the Seventh-day Adventist Church, have made blood donation a banner of service. They mobilize families, break down prejudice, and fill blood banks. And they show, in practice, that solidarity has no minimum age, only the act of donating does.
Why every bag matters
Accidents, surgeries, childbirth, cancer treatments, severe anemia, and transplants all depend on blood every day. According to Brazil's Ministry of Health, there is no artificial substitute for human blood: it can only come from voluntary donors. When a blood bank's stock runs low, real lives are put at risk, especially around long holiday weekends and winter, when donations tend to drop.
A single donation can be separated into different components, red blood cells, platelets, plasma, and cryoprecipitate, and help more than one patient. That's why organized campaigns, which bring in many donors on the same day, make such a difference: they turn an individual gesture into a collective boost for the entire healthcare network.
Serving others: the Pathfinder's DNA
Serving the community isn't an extra in a Pathfinder's life, it's at the heart of the movement. The Pathfinder Law and Aim speak of helping others and being a servant of God and a friend to all. That's why social action, food drives, hospital visits, and blood donation campaigns, are hallmarks of clubs connected to the Adventist Church.
Blood donation fits perfectly with that spirit because it asks for something money can't buy: each person's willingness to give a little of themselves for the sake of a stranger. The club becomes a bridge between those who need to receive and those who can give, and that bridge moves entire families.
"The Pathfinder is a servant of God and a friend to all. Donating blood is a concrete way to live that out."The spirit of Pathfinder community service
Life for Lives: the tradition that became a movement
The largest Adventist project encouraging blood donation is Life for Lives. It began in 2005, when young Adventists came together in a volunteer effort to encourage donations around Easter, a time when many blood banks see their stock drop. What started as a one-time initiative became an annual tradition.
Today, Life for Lives mobilizes young people in eight South American countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay. According to the Adventist Church, in 2024 alone nearly 162,000 young people across these countries donated blood and/or registered as bone marrow donors during the project's campaigns. In 2025, the initiative marked its 20th anniversary.
Pathfinder and Adventurer clubs join this effort alongside the Youth Ministry: they help spread the word, organize collection points, welcome the community, and celebrate every donor. The result shows up in partnerships with state blood banks across the country.
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In June 2026, young people and Adventist clubs mobilized the city of Barreirinhas (MA), in the Lençóis Maranhenses region, for a campaign celebrating World Blood Donor Day, marked on June 14. According to the Adventist Church, the effort brought together donors from the church and the community and resulted in 241 units of blood donated and 72 bone marrow donor registrations. Pathfinder and Adventurer clubs, along with the Youth Ministry, took part in organizing it.
In Mato Grosso do Sul, more than two decades of work earned official recognition: in 2023, the Adventist Church received the Conexão seal from Hemosul (the state agency responsible for blood collection and distribution), in recognition of its ongoing work encouraging donation in the state.
These are just two examples. Similar campaigns happen every year in Adventist churches, schools, and clubs across Brazil, often in direct partnership with local blood banks and hospitals.
Who donates and who mobilizes: every age has a role
Blood donation has age and health rules set by the Ministry of Health. To donate, a person must be between 16 and 69 years old (16- and 17-year-olds may only donate with formal consent from a parent or legal guardian), weigh at least 50 kg (110 lbs), be in good health, have slept at least 6 hours in the previous 24 hours, be well-fed, and present an official photo ID. People between 60 and 69 may only donate if they had already donated before turning 60.
That means most Pathfinders, children and pre-teens, won't be in the donation chair. And that's perfectly fine: their role is just as vital. They mobilize. They invite parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and adult neighbors; help spread the word about the date; welcome donors; organize the logistics; and celebrate every bag collected.
Adult family members and older Pathfinders who meet the requirements can donate directly. That way, the whole club takes part: some donating, others mobilizing, together turning a Saturday of service into lives saved. Important: specific criteria vary by blood bank, so it's always worth confirming local rules before the campaign.
"An underage Pathfinder doesn't donate blood, but mobilizes those who can. That's also a way of saving lives."How to take part safely
How your club can organize a campaign
Start by reaching out to the blood bank in your area and asking about partnerships for group campaigns: many offer scheduling, guidance, and even mobile collection units. Pick a meaningful date, World Blood Donor Day (June 14), National Donor Day (November 25), or low-stock periods like Easter and winter.
Get the Pathfinders involved in spreading the word: posters, social media, personal invitations to families and the community. Arrange transportation and hospitality for donors on the day, with volunteers to guide and thank them. And remind every prospective donor to check the age, weight, and health requirements before showing up. Small organizational details can turn a campaign into far more bags collected, and far more lives supported.