AS Roma joins forces with the city to appeal for blood donations.

Italian Serie A football club AS Roma and the city of Rome are organising a Valentine's Day blood donation drive on Friday for young cancer patients at the Gemelli Hospital.

The initiative, scheduled from 08.00 to 13.00 in Piazza del Campidoglio, is designed to boost the number of blood donors and make a concrete contribution to helping children suffering from leukemia.

The president of the city's assembly Svetlana Celli said that donating blood means "offering hope to those who are facing difficult times", urging people to join the Valentine's Day initiative and "truly make a difference by transforming love into a tangible gesture". 

Where to donate blood in Rome

Blood can be donated at centri transfusionali in Rome hospitals - including at the Gemelli -always in the morning, however opening times vary from hospital to hospital.

Donors must be aged from 18 to 70 and blood can only be given on an empty stomach.

For full details of how, when and where in Rome to donate blood see the Regione Lazio website.