Catalan blood drive aims for 10,000 donations with a cinema themed campaign

Catalonia’s yearly blood drive the “Marató de donants de sang” aims to reach 10,000 donations in the week from January 8 until January 15. All main Catalan hospitals will be involved in this movie-themed campaign

A pop up center will also be set up on January 8 and 9, in Barcelona’s Portal de l’Eixample, number 286 carrer València de Barcelona.

The period following Christmas generally sees a 25% drop in the number of people giving blood compared with other months in the year, and the drive - the biggest of its kind in the country - aims to offset the annual shortfall.

Part of the blood donations this year will go towards helping Covid-19 patients. The president of the blood and tissue bank, Francesc Gòdia explained that this past May and April, 15% of all donations went towards this cause. 

Movie theme

The campaign titled “Donar sang és una altra pel·lícula'' or “Giving blood is another movie”, will be themed around the cinema, with donors being presented with popcorn, a red carpet and even an opportunity for pictures with famous movie quotes, adapted to the blood drive, after giving blood.

As well as this, movie trailers themed around blood donors and receivers will be available on this website, throughout the week.

Donation slots will have to be booked online in order to avoid crowds, and of course this will look like booking tickets for the cinema.

The 2020 drive was themed around trap music, whilst the 2019 one focused onhashtags and social media, in order to draw in younger people to help meet the 10,000 target.

Mayors support of the campaign

Mayors of the largest Catalan cities have come together to support and encourage the blood drive.

“[Giving blood] has to be normalized, we should understand that it is an almost obligatory minimum act of civility, because giving blood is giving and saving lives.” Girona’s mayor Marta Madrenas explained.

Tarragona mayor Pau Ricomà advised people who were hesitant about donating “to not be reluctant, and to not be scared.”