The national blood transfusion service is planning to install new equipment to test people for viruses they might have contracted from abroad, in a bid to increase the number of blood donors.
This means donors could be given the go-ahead to give blood without having to wait days or even months after returning from their travels, Alex Aquilina, who heads the NBTS, told The Sunday Times of Malta.
Even a trip to Italy could expose donors to certain viruses. The West Nile virus, for example, is currently prevalent in Italy, Romania, France, Hungary, Austria, Croatia and Serbia. Those who return from these countries have to wait for 28 days before donating.
The reduction in waiting time will be particularly important in summer, when the number of blood donations declines.
“Summer is the most challenging period for the transfusion service unit as high temperatures often discourage people from donating,” Dr Aquilina said.
“Meanwhile, since donors are advised to keep activity levels to a minimum after donating blood, those who take the day off to go to the beach cannot donate blood.”
Summer is the most challenging period for the transfusion service
Blood donations save lives and the blood transfusion unit has a daily demand of 50 bags, often struggling to keep up. With improved technology, however, hospitals across the world are now able to use their limited blood resources in a smarter manner, Dr Aquilina said.
According to new data, 4,525 donations were made between June and August of 2016 but the figure went down to 3,975 in the summer of 2017 and to 3,892 this summer.
When it comes to annual data, despite a gradual increase of whole blood donations from 16,089 in 2000 to 17,226 in 2016, there was a drop to 15,943 donations last year.
The unit relies a lot on regular donors and has increased its efforts to encourage returners.
Two thirds of the donations in 2017 came from men – 10,806 compared to 5,137 donations from women. Women can donate up to three times a year while men can do so more frequently. Still, the gaps in some other countries are much smaller. The gap in Malta grows the older the donors grow.
The bulk of blood donations comes not from the healthiest and youngest age group (15 to 35 year olds) but rather from donors between 36 and 55.
Do not wait for some national emergency to donate blood. Take your identity card, driving licence or Maltese passport along to the centre in Guardamangia between Monday and Sunday from 8am to 6pm. To keep updated, look up National Blood Transfusion Service – Malta on Facebook.
Donors who keep it up
Publio Farrugia, who has been a donor since he was 18, makes an extra effort to donate blood in summer, quite aware of the drop in the number of visitors at the blood donation unit.
Now aged 54, he admits that when he was much younger he put off donating during the hot months mainly because of the wrong perception that doing so was detrimental to health.
“The only impact it had on me was that I left the building satisfied that I had done something for the wellbeing of others,” he says now.
Mr Farrugia knows only too well how beneficial donating blood is, especially after the mother of someone close to him needed a transfusion herself.