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Let blood, and organs, flow

Spain’s Blood and Tissue Bank will hold a marathon during today and tomorrow in Barcelona with the goal of reaching 1,500 blood donors. Spain remains the world leader in organ donations per capita, according to the latest report by the National Transplant Organization

STAFF | JANUARY 14TH, 2011

"Let the blood flow," is the motto of Spain’s Blood and Tissue Bank marathon for blood donors to be held in Barcelona during today and tomorrow. The goal is collect 1,500 donations during the two days, and the marathon’s preregistration period is already proving to be successful. Those interested can reserve a place on the website Quecorrilasang.org.

Spain’s altruism in blood donations is well known, and Spain remains the world leader in organ donations, according to the balance of the 2010 fiscal year of the National Transplant Organization (ONT), released this week. Spain has led the world for 19 consecutive years in per capita organ donations and transplants.

Spain remains the world leader in organ donations despite the fact that the number of donations dropped in 2010, from 34.4 per million inhabitants in 2009 (1,605 donors in total) to 32 per million today (1,502 in total for 2010), the lowest figure in ten years. In the case of Catalonia, the per capita figure stands at 26.8 per million, the second lowest in Spain after Extremadura.

The main cause for the decline lies "in a decrease in brain death and, therefore, of people who can be organ donors after dying in ICU," explained José Martínez Olmos, Spain’s Secretary General of Health. This is a trend observed by the ONT for some time. To counter this, three years ago the institution launched the Donations Strategic Plan 40, which aims to promote living donors, organ transplants after heart failure and implement programs targeted specifically at increasing the culture of donation in the immigrant population.

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1 comment

Melina Nicala 18/05/2011
Me parece muy bueno la manera en la que ayudan a los demás x que me entere que en Estados Unidos el que no tiene obra social y necesita ir al hospital urgente lo dejan MORIR que malas personas solamente le importan ellos mismos,no se si para ustedes esta bien pero para mi NO.

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