Call to Donate Blood in Malaga After a 20% Drop in the Last Two Weeks

THE Malaga Blood Transfusion Centre (CRTS) has called on the population to donate blood after having registered a 20 per cent drop in donations in the last two weeks. They have indicated that they are working “with very low reserves,” so it is necessary to respond “to ensure sufficient stock” and, in this way, to be able to attend to all patients admitted to hospitals who may need blood.
During June 14 and 15 in the case of Monday coinciding with World Blood Donor Day, the centre will remain open from nine in the morning to nine at night to offer the possibility of contributing a drop of blood. The aim of the World Donor Day commemoration is to raise awareness of the need for safe blood and blood products for transfusions, and of the crucial contribution that voluntary blood donors make to health systems.
As reported by Malaga Hoy, in Malaga it is necessary to maintain a stock of at least 1,500 units of blood, as a result, 250 donations are needed daily. “We are in about 400 or 500 units. We have very few stocks. Reserves have dropped considerably. We need an average of 200 or 225 units a day and for two weeks we have not exceeded 170,” stated medical coordinator, Mariano Lozano.
The drop in donations in recent days could respond to the fact that hospitals have already begun to regain normalcy and are ceasing to be almost exclusively Covid centres. One of the reflections of this recovery is the increased demand for blood for transfusions.
So far this year, the Transfusion Centre, which supplies all the hospitals in Malaga and its province, has obtained 21,973 donations which translates into 10 per cent more than the same 2020 period. During that year, which will be remembered as the beginning of the pandemic, Malaga registered a total of 45,766 blood donations, which was 2 per cent less compared to the same period of the previous year.
Despite mobility restrictions and other difficulties, donors have continued to donate blood and plasma for patients requiring transfusions. Lozano highlighted the “extraordinary effort in the context of an unprecedented crisis,” which, according to those responsible for the centre, “highlights the crucial role of blood donors, voluntarily committed, to ensure the availability of blood supplies, safe and sufficient blood, both in normal times and in emergencies.”