Andorra la VellaThe general secretary of the Andorran Red Cross, Joan Saurí, expects to close the year with a total of 1,500 blood donations. This is what he announced this Monday during the first day of the fifth and last blood donation campaign of the year, which will last three days and which, on this occasion, takes place at the Lycée Comte de Foix. “We are maintaining a very stable donation ratio throughout the campaigns we have organized. For us, it would be a good result to reach one hundred daily donations and reach 1,500, a number that has remained stable for years,” he emphasized, Saurí, who also recalled that the center is simultaneously hosting the campaign to encourage bone marrow donation.
Saurí, in this regard, recalled that the Andorran Red Cross works in collaboration with the Blood Bank of Catalonia, which is in charge of administering and distributing all donations. “Normally, the Blood Bank is below minimums, but today I was told that they are not as bad as on other occasions, when the situation was critical. Now they have about 6,700 liters in reserve, but a complicated time, like Christmas, when people are more focused on other things and there is a drop” warned the general secretary.
Regarding the collaboration of Lycée Comte de Foix, Saurí has celebrated that there are more and more centers and entities that want to participate in these campaigns. “Before, it was only us who organized it. MoraBanc started, then the Andorran school asked us to do it, later the University… This is the second year we have collaborated with the Lycée” recalled Saurí, who, in addition , has advanced that next year all the campaigns will be done with the involvement of the basketball club or other educational centers, such as Col·legi Sant Ermengol. In the specific case of the Lycée, Saurí emphasized that the students are actively participating in the project. “During these three days, the students are putting into practice everything they have learned. Today they are volunteering to help manage the circuit, and they are also preparing the catering,” he commented. “It’s not just one day, but a process that they’ve been working on for months. It’s very interesting because that’s how they acquire fundamental values like solidarity and humanity, and I think it’s important to instill these values in young people because, when they are adults, let them be the ones to continue this effort,” remarked Saurí.
Finally, the secretary general of the Red Cross recalled that the requirements to donate blood include being between 18 and 70 years old, weighing more than 50 kg, having waited at least two months since the last donation, not being fasting and have a desire to contribute and make a difference. “Donating blood is essential, because the demand is constant, either due to accidents or catastrophes, such as what our colleagues in Valencia have recently experienced. In addition, it cannot be manufactured synthetically; we depend exclusively on donations” he emphasized , Saurí, while insisting that donating blood does not harm the donor, but activates the body and is a solidarity and humanitarian gesture. “Andorra society has shown to be very supportive, as it has reached spectacular figures. Consider that Andorra registers more donations than the city of Lleida, despite having many fewer inhabitants” concluded the secretary general of the Red Cross, who has shown great pride in the society of the Principality.