The cold and rain slow down the reception of blood donations during the afternoon today

With a little delay caused by the persistent rain that had been falling since the early hours of TODAY afternoon, the first day of collecting blood donations began at the Teatro del Revellín. An hour after the door opened, only 26 donations had been received, largely due to the prevailing weather conditions throughout the afternoon, which prevented many people from Ceuta from going out into the street.

But despite this initial slowness, the team from the Cádiz Transfusion, Tissue and Cell Center, CTTC, headed by its coordinator, Gloria Carrillo, enthusiastically received and cared for those who, despite the bad weather.

Rivero has once again emphasized the need for people to come to donate blood during these days, especially this one, the first of the year, since it comes from a holiday period in which the collection of donations was lower than the regular , taking the levels of the deposits to minimum levels that are not recommended and that would make health care difficult in the event of a situation of a significant magnitude.

The team from the Center for Transfusion, Tejidos y Células de Cádiz, CTTC, has returned to Ceuta this Tuesday and Wednesday, for the first of the six days of collecting blood donations in the autonomous city scheduled for this 2023 and in which collects blood not only to meet the needs of our town, but also of the rest of Andalusia.

These blood donation collection days are planned to be held every two months and one day, the minimum time established for a person who has donated to be able to do so again, the last one in 2022 being held on November 22 and 23, days during which 228 blood donations of the approximately 400 that are needed were received.

no self reliance
In this regard, Rafaela López, director of CTTC, in recent statements to EL PUEBLO explained that the transfusion center in Cádiz is part of the Andalusian network of transfusion, tissue and cell medicine and from there an equitable distribution is made between all the locations that make up the network, says López. “So if Ceuta does not get enough donations for self-sufficiency, it receives blood donated in other locations.”

López also explained that despite the effort made by the people of Ceuta to respond to the donation call, mainly by military personnel, “the numbers fluctuate a lot and there are times when it does not even reach 50% with respect to what is self-sufficiency. Between 50 and 54% has been moving in recent years, last year’s figure is 54%, with which it is truly self-sufficient, with which the donation that exists, does not exist. In order to cover the needs of Ceuta and have self-sufficiency, twice as many donations are needed, which is an average of about 200 each day, we are talking about 400 bags per visit. We need about 2,100, 2,200 units a year, ”he emphasizes.

why donate blood
Every day, dozens of patients save their lives or recover their health thanks to blood transfusion. The donation is free and altruistic and cannot be a reason for commerce. It is not bought or sold: the initiative comes from you. The act of donating blood is simple, fast, practically painless and medically controlled. The whole process does not have to take more than half an hour.
Donor blood is essential for a large number of procedures, including cancer treatments, complex surgeries, traffic accidents, organ transplants and hematological diseases.