SLOVENIA'S 5 CORE VALUES

Zdravko has reached a milestone in helping his fellow human beings that few achieve - he has donated blood 171 times.

Zdravko Širec, a 67-year-old volunteer with the Red Cross, Regional Association Slovenska Bistrica, comes from Kočno pri Laporje. His blood donation journey started early; in 1976, when he was only 18 years old. At that time, as a young employee of Impol, he followed the example of his older colleagues. Initially out of curiosity, blood donation quickly became something more - a way of life.

He worked for Impol from 1973 until his retirement in 2017. First as a toolmaker, then as a metallurgical technician. All these years, blood donation was part of his everyday life. »I donated blood for 47 years. Mostly three to four times a year,« he says. In the past, he has also been invited to donate platelets for leukaemia patients on several occasions, as he has blood type 0 plus - the one that can save the most lives.

She remembers that blood donation used to be different. There were field blood donation drives in many places, and blood donors were bussed from companies to hospitals and brought back safely after the donation. Blood donation was then accompanied by a greater understanding of the system. The donor was given two days off, paid for by the State. But despite the changes that have taken place over the decades, the essence remains the same: to help one's fellow man.

»I have never regretted my decision to become a blood donor,« stresses Širec. »For me, it means that you don't just look at yourself. It's about helping someone to heal or maybe even save their life. I have always thought of others first - friends, colleagues, fellow human beings, so it has never been difficult for me to go to a blood donation campaign. Helping others is part of who I am. I can say that giving blood is my mission.«

This mission has become part of the family. My wife, Anica, also donated blood as long as she could. So did her son Dušan and daughter Vesna, who had to temporarily give up blood donation due to work commitments. Zdravko has also passed on his enthusiasm for blood donation to friends, acquaintances, relatives and former colleagues for decades.

On the occasion of the Slovenian Blood Donation Day, which is celebrated on 4 June, and at the nationwide meeting of Red Cross blood donors and volunteers in Verže, on 3 June 2023, the following was sThis makes the moment in Veržej particularly touching. Zdravko Širec made the 170th blood donation in Veržej at a meeting of Red Cross blood donors and volunteers together with the then Minister of Health, Danijel Bešič Loredan. The Minister honoured him with a special blood donor award on the occasion of this remarkable number. The President of the Slovenian Red Cross, Vesna Mikuž, and Erika Kavaš from the Centre for Transfusion Medicine of the UKC Maribor also thanked him with symbolic gifts.

Special thanks were also expressed to the jubilarian by Marjana Sagadin, President of the Slovenian Red Cross, Regional Association Slovenska Bistrica, who presented him with a book Man - our first concern, the Red Cross in Slovenia from the beginning to today and a painting of a landscape from the Three Kings, by Jože Šetar from Zgornje Polskawa. 

Zdravko donated blood as long as his years allowed. The final number of blood donations thus stood at 171.

Zdravko Širc's story is not just about numbers. It is a story of quiet perseverance, of responsibility towards fellow human beings and of the belief that everyone can do something extraordinary with a simple act. That it can save someone's life or help someone to heal. And that is why his 171 donations are not just about personal achievement, but about inspiring a community.

Amadeja Mlakar, 2. 1. 2026