The blood donor pool in Portugal has been hit doubly hard thanks to an aging population combined with increased emigration according to Hélder Trindade, the President of the Portuguese Institute of Blood and Transplantation.
“There is currently huge pressure on the availability of blood donors and we would again appeal for sporadic donors, or to those who have never given blood before to come forward and give blood. This way we can work to retain some tranquility over our blood supplies,” said Hélder Trindade.
He added: “Portugal is experiencing a phase of losing blood donors, both due to the ageing of the population and because of a strong trend towards youth emigration. Meanwhile companies have closed their doors to blood collection campaigns or have more difficulty in releasing their employees for giving blood, increasing the problem”.
While there is an undeniable issue regarding motivating people in the country to give blood, the situation has been made easier thanks to changing operating procedures.
Last year, Portugal experienced a drop in the number of blood donations made but supplies were secure for most of the year even though the situation did turn critical in February and the peak summer months.
Trindade said that blood levels
in Portugal had only managed to remain stable because of a fall in
the demand for blood both nationally and internationally which is believed to be caused by less invasive
surgical practices becoming more common.