The Observatory aims to:
- spread the culture of blood donation among all population classes;
- stimulate the scientific research on this topic, including not only medical but also
sociological, anthropological and educational contributions;
- organize conferences, seminars and training courses about awakening campaigns addressed both to political or medical authorities and to Italian schools or universities
- organize researches on blood donation;
- build stable relationships with the immigrants’ communities, in order to increase the number of regular donations among them.

In order to reach these goals, the Observatory organized a series of projects aimed at the active involvement of immigrant communities on preventive care. It also promoted campaigns for the promotion of solidarity and sharing of basic values of a multicultural and multiethnic society like the contemporary Italian one.

This is described in the recently published book L’altro in me. Dono del sangue e immigrazione fra culture, pratiche e identità (by Annamaria Fantauzzi), that collects essays from academic and associative experts and of donors’ and medical doctors’ stories.

Since the campaign “Grazie, prego” – based on an agreement between AVIS and Livia Turco, who was the Health Minister at that time - was launched in 2006, and the start up of the Observatory in the same month, many Avis offices started co-working with the immigrants’ communities. Some volunteers promoted this kind of activities even before October 2006:

• AVIS Toscana (Prato, Livorno, Firenze) organized sociological, anthropological and scientific researches with immigrants’ communities from Senegal, Romania, Albania
• Avis Torino organized the first blood donation of the islamic community, followed by similar events in the Big Mosque in Roma;
• the restyle, update and translation of all the procedures to select blood donors, in cooperation with S.I.M.T.I. (Italian Organization for Transfusion and Immunohematological Medicine).
• the beginning of many researches, conferences and seminars where the foreign communities have played a key role in the promotion of blood donation.

This brought to cultural exchange also with the immigrants’ native countries.

Avis recently signed protocols with AMDS of Morocco and with LRI (Association of Romanians living in Italy), as well as the institution of AVAS in Argentina (Association of Argentine Voluntary Blood Donors) are just some examples.

Many other activities, organized by regional, district or local Avis sites may be listed. They deserve a positive judgment to show that, also by the blood donation, a common path in the direction of reciprocal awareness and understanding between natives and immigrant citizens is possible.

Increase of:

• Immigrants’ interest and sensitivity towards blood donation as a way of prevention and education to wellbeing.
• Number of blood donations done by immigrants
• Scientific researches, meetings, workshops on this topic
• Number of press articles and brochures published in order to promote blood donation among foreigners
• Number of events organized all over Italy by the Observatory on blood donation

New co-operation projects recently started with the countries which immigrants come from. 

Nowadays we can estimate that there are about 40.000 foreign blood donors all over the Country, with a higher concentration in Northern and Central Italy. The most involved and active community is the Moroccan one. The members of Moroccan associations started to donate blood in 2005. 

The Observatory purpose is to involve new generations, in order to satisfy the need of blood in future years. The Italian population is getting older and the number of births decreased in the past 10 years. On the other hand, the average age of the foreign population living in our Country is 20-45 years, with a high percentage of births.

The Observatory wants also to promote the intercultural dialogue: this will help to knock down xenophobic behaviours and will support peaceful coexistence.

For main events, the main source of funding come from the National Headquarters of AVIS.

Minor events are usually funded by local groups of Avis.