Home » Business » Record donations in El Bierzo with 5,000 in 2022, but they do not arrive

Record donations in El Bierzo with 5,000 in 2022, but they do not arrive

The Bierzo Laciana Brotherhood of Blood Donors accounted for a total ofand 5,034 donations throughout 2022, of which were whole blood donations 4,637 and plasma apheresis 397. This is the one index per thousand inhabitants of 39.35 in a total population in the health area of ​​127,913 inhabitants.

The president of the Brotherhood, Abelardo del Ejido wanted to thank the donors for their collaboration “because we have achieved another record in the number of donations”, although the blood needs in the region “are close to the donations”, but do not fully cover them. That is why he points out the need to create new donors “because we are an aging population,” he says.

The coordinator of the Brotherhood, for his part, Jose Miguel Alvarez, He acknowledges that there have been numerous urgent calls for the donation in 2022 “something that is effective and that usually achieves the intended objective”, but it keeps the organization in tension.

In the balance of the year, Álvarez says that it has been “record and history”with a high donation rate “is significant because it is in a complex demographic environment”, with a descent, only in Ponferrada, with 700 inhabitants. He does not want to give a triumphant approach to the data, however, “because we have not reached the transfusion rates that have occurred” in public and private hospitals in Ponferrada. This means that donations from other areas have had to be used. The objective is that all blood needs are covered and there are no delays in surgical operations for this reason. “That generates certain tensions for us,” he says, because the aging of the population means that there are large recipient population and few donors. “This is one of our goals, get new donors“, to achieve self-sufficiency and achieve it” in a more relaxed way, without making continuous appeals, “he says.

In 2022, 478 donors joined, of which the majority were women, specifically 278, compared to 209 men. At least once they donated blood 3,000 donors, of which women were 1,449 and men 1,551.

The donor profile is currently very balanced by sexes, and there is more donors in the 45 to 55 age range “perhaps because of the demographic boom that occurred in those years.” But there are new donors of all ages. Between 18 and 45 years is “where we can find more donors”, although it is not the most abundant in the Bercian population.

Álvarez
points out that the mission will be to attract companies and institutions to provide facilities for establish new blood collection points “There are many sites that can be included in the list of donation points.” At present there are twenty and it is the fixed points that exceed the number of donations.

In addition, the Brotherhood marks another generic challenge, launch plasma donation programs exclusively “here are two teams to do it,” says Álvarez. But there is a program in a mobile plasma donation unit that will be launched this year. It will have three apheresis machines “to increase donations of this component.” “The forecasts tell us that we will need more, because Spain is not self-sufficient in plasma and you have to step on the accelerator to be, because now you have to import it”. It would be “a big problem” not to be able to achieve it at some point, he abounds.

The donation is centralized by the Brotherhood of Castilla y León and from there it is distributed throughout the autonomy.

To those who are not donors, he asks “that they do not exclude themselves”, because the norm may have changed or “because there are false beliefs” about donation that makes them reject this practice. There is no danger of contagion, clarifies Álvarez, in front of people who may have reluctance. He does point out the importance of the act of donating blood “it is something quite intimate to do it for nothing and for someone you don’t know who he is. It is something to value“, he explains. “All of society is involved and the message is that when we can donate we do it and when we can’t, the needs we have are covered“.

And it opens another reflection, in transplants a very high amount of donations is needed that can reach 100 “and means saving a life,” he says.

This past year there has been a narrow margin between needs and donations, but it still doesn’t balance, it points. That is why it is marked as objectives add 500 new donors this year and cover all the needs, which would be 5,350 donations.

This year 5,394 units were sent to hospitalsbut 5,034 were obtaineda short gap, according to Álvarez, but which he hopes will be further shortened.

Recognize that there is now impediments that make donating not easy, but they are established to achieve a greater transfusion guarantee, such as even a manicure with cuticle cutting forces you to wait four months to donate.

For this year, promotional tasks continue to be set to create new donors and approach them, such as the two annual campaigns of Giving is from cinema, why the Cinemas La Dehesa they give away a movie ticket to each donor. An activity that is already beginning with a mobile unit that will be installed at the gates of the El Rosal shopping center from February 6 to 11. But more ideas are expected in order to stretch that number of donors which, yes, make El Bierzo stand out in the autonomous community.

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