Over 7,500 Encouraged to Donate Blood for World Blood Donor Day in Valencia, With Emphasis on Plasma Donation

VALENCIA (EP). More than 7,500 people are encouraged to donate blood for the first time this year in the Valencian Community, according to data from the Ministry of Health, on the occasion of the celebration, this June 14, of World Blood Donor Day. In this year’s commemoration, the emphasis is placed on plasma donation, which is “crucial” in chronic conditions such as hemophilia or immunodeficiencies.

Since January of this year, the Transfusion Center of the Valencian Community (CTCV) has obtained a total of 77,009 units of blood: 43,133 in Valencia; 26,087 in Alicante and the remaining 7,789 units in Castellón.

World Blood Donor Day is commemorated this year under the slogan ‘Donate blood, donate plasma, share life, share it frequently’, which highlights, for the first time, the importance of donating plasma, since this component of blood plays a crucial role in chronic conditions such as hemophilia or immunodeficiencies.

In this regard, the director of the Transfusion Center, Cristina Arbona, aspires to “go one step further and ensure that plasma donation is as common and normalized as blood donation”. In addition, he highlights that “without the commitment of donors to society, the needs of patients in the hospitals of the Community could not be met.”

Also remember that donating is very simple: “if you are between 18 and 65 years old, weigh more than 50 kilos and have a normal state of health, you can take the step. The satisfaction at the end is very comforting,” he explains.

The Transfusion Center of the Valencian Community ended the year 2022 with a total of 176,723 blood donations: 98,519 units in Valencia, 18,131 in Castellón and 60,073 in Alicante. These figures recover pre-pandemic levels. In addition, a total of 16,223 people joined as new donors: 8,909 in Valencia, 5,754 in Alicante and 1,560 in Castellón.

Regarding gender, 55.4 percent of men and 44.6% of women donated. The percentages are even more even if it is taken into account that women can only donate three times a year and men four. By age groups, 25.7% of the donors were between 18 and 35 years old; the group between 36 and 45 years concentrated 22.8% of the donors, and those between the ages of 46 and 65 represented 51.5%.

Actions

To commemorate World Blood Donor Day, in Castelló, at 7:00 p.m., a talk on donation organized by Llibreria Babel by staff from the Transfusion Center has been scheduled. On Friday the 16th, at the Public Health office, the ‘Tota gota de sang fa paret’ campaign has been scheduled and on Saturday June 17th, the Living Houses de Oropesa real estate agency will give donors a breakfast.

In Alicante, different special blood donations will be made: today, Wednesday the 14th in the town of El Campello and Saturday the 17th, in San Vicente del Raspeig.

In Valencia, at the El Saler Shopping Center you can donate throughout the week in the morning and afternoon, in addition, all sports donors will receive a training shirt. For its part, Metrovalencia will give away two free metro trips to donors. The students of two diocesan schools of the Valencian Community will appreciate the solidarity of the donors with direct messages on their social networks.