The Jaén Blood Transfusion Centre will carry out a total of 22 outings during the month of August to maintain the supply of blood derivatives in health centres. This activity is part of the campaign ‘You have the missing piece. Donate blood. For you, for me, for everyone’ to promote blood donation during the summer months in the province.
During this month, mobile units will travel to the towns of Cazorla, Villargordo, Arjona, Santo Tomé, Santiago Pontones, Huelma, Valdepeñas and Marmolejo in Jaén.
75% of donations are used to treat diseases and 30% of reserves are used to treat cancer or hematological diseases; 20% to treat anemia; almost another 20% to surgical interventions, burns or organ and tissue transplants; more than ten percent to care for heart, gastric or kidney diseases; around eight percent to care for accidents and traumas; eight percent to patients with orthopedics, fractures and joint replacements and the remaining four percent to births and Caesarean sections.
Donations of blood components allow public hospitals in Jaén to be self-sufficient for their medical and surgical activities, and even red blood cell, platelet and plasma concentrates have been sent to other provinces in our autonomous community, where they have been needed.
Requirements for donating blood
Blood donors must be between 18 and 65 years old and weigh 50 kilograms or more; not suffer from chronic diseases or acute infections; not be anaemic; and not engage in risky practices that facilitate the spread of diseases, such as hepatitis, syphilis or AIDS.
It is mandatory to bring your ID or a document that accredits you and it is advisable not to come on an empty stomach. Donating blood is a safe process, assisted by specialized health personnel. Before the extraction, the donor is interviewed and undergoes a medical examination. Men can donate blood up to four times a year and women three times, with a minimum interval of two months between donations. Specific plasma donors can come every 15 days.
