Blood drive aims to replenish supplies with 10,000 donations in a week 

Catalonia's annual blood donation drive (La Marató de Donants de Sang de Catalunya) kicks off on Thursday with the aim of reaching 10,000 donations in a week. 

With the slogan 'Do it together' ('Fer-ho entre tots'), this year's campaign will last until Friday, January 19. 

Donations can be made at major hospitals and at 70 additional sites across Catalonia. 

The traditional New Year campaign is held in January to make up for the drop in donations over the Christmas holidays. 

The Blood and Tissue Bank's director, Anna Millán, has called for "collective altruism," pointing out that there are currently five days' stock of blood reserves, while the ideal scenario is to have reserves for eight days. 

70,000 people will need blood transfusions 

At the launch of this year's donation drive on Tuesday, the Blood and Tissue Bank said it estimated that more than 70,000 people admitted to hospitals throughout Catalonia during 2024 will need a transfusion of blood, plasma or platelets from blood donations. 

The organization calculates that over the course of the year more than 260,000 donations will be needed to cover the demand. 

The campaign launch at Barcelona City Hall was attended by the mayors of Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. 

Events 

The donation drive kicks off on Thursday at 10am at the Avenida Palace hotel in Barcelona, where donors can give blood and plasma. 

On Saturday, January 13, the Born Center for Culture and Memory in Barcelona will also host a blood donation event with music and various cultural activites, including castellers, or human towers. 

Drop in donations in 2023  

According to data from the Blood Bank, donations made during 2023 fell throughout Catalonia compared to the previous year, especially in the province of Barcelona. 

Last year 247,677 donations were made throughout Catalonia, while in 2022 there were 253,494. 

In the Barcelona region, 170,122 donations were made in 2023, down from 173,897 in 2022. 

In Girona, donations also fell from 30,550 to 29,348, while in Tarragona donations went from just over 32,000 in 2022 to 31,115 last year. 

Lleida was the only region where donations increased slightly in 2023, to 17,092.