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6th Blood Drive at the PCB

By 14 de May de 2009November 18th, 2020No Comments
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 14.05.2009

6th Blood Drive at the PCB

Next Thursday, May 21, the Blood and Tissue Bank (BST) of the Generalitat of Catalonia (the Catalan government) will host the sixth blood drive at the Barcelona Science Park (PCB). All those people who wish to donate blood can do so at the mobile unit that will be set up in front of the Helix Building (Baldiri Reixac, 15). Blood extractions will take place between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. In the previous edition –which took place in November 2008- a total of 39 people offered to donate blood –eleven of them for the first time- but only 31 blood extractions were possible.

In 2008, the Blood and Tissue Bank reported a total of 298,443 blood donations in Catalonia, of which 188,701 (63.22%) had been performed at mobile units and 98,639 (33.05%) at fixed units. The mean index of donations obtained in mobile unit campaigns was 34.59 donations per session.

Donated blood is used in Catalan public and private health care centres to carry out surgical interventions, oncological treatments, organ transplants and transfusions. In 2008, the total number of donations increased by 15,782 units when compared to 2007 (which means a 5.58% increase). However, reserves are still low given that, in order to guarantee a good supply, more than 1,000 donations are needed daily, according to the BSC.

The Blood and Tissue Bank of the Catalan Health Service (BST) is, at present, the only blood bank in Catalonia –the result of merging all Catalan blood banks to adequately respond to technical and safety requirements- and has become a significant reference centre in Catalonia and in Spain. Its mission is to obtain, manage and administer donations, transfusions and blood and plasma analyses, as well as to obtain and process tissues and other intervention lines in the field of immunobiology, molecular diagnosis, cell therapy and regenerative medicine. The Bank has 16 permanent blood donation centres in reference hospitals and 17 mobile unit teams that frequently cover all Catalan health care regions.

According to the last BST report, Catalonia is one of autonomous communities in Spain boasting more than 40 donations per 1000 inhabitants (the national average is 37.6) and in 2008, 41,579 Catalan citizens became new donors in the community. In recognition of the Catalan model –based on one blood bank, associationism, and the promotion of blood donation as a sign of solidarity and civic responsibility- Barcelona has been chosen as the host city to hold the next 2010 World Blood Donor Day.