Covid still sinks the collection of blood and plasma. In 2021 there were 1,653,268 donors in Italy, recovering from the year of the outbreak of the emergency, but still lower than in the pre-pandemic period with -1.8% compared to 2019. This is the picture that emerges from the consolidated data of 2021 activities released by the National Blood Center in view of June 14, the date on which World Blood Donor Day occurs.
The data confirms a slight downward trend which has now lasted for about ten years. Compared to 2012, in fact, the donor population decreased by about 5% and if, in the 5 pre-Covid years, the figure had been substantially stable, the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has hit the blood transfusion system hard. .
Self-sufficiency as regards the collection of red blood cells, in 2021, has however been achieved. While in order to meet the national needs for plasma-derived medicines, we have been forced to resort to the international market, marked by the rise in prices. “After two and a half years of the pandemic, the bill is still high – commented the director of the CNS Vincenzo De Angelis – We must thank the donors who with their generosity guarantee the functioning of a system based on the criteria of a safe, voluntary donation. , anonymous, periodic and unpaid “.
“Among the challenges to be overcome – comments Gianpietro Briola, national president of Avis and coordinator of Civis (Interassociative Coordination of Italian Blood Volunteers) – the achievement of pre-pandemic levels and the increase in the individual donation index, stopped at 1 , 6%. It takes very little to make this gesture of generosity at least twice a year, possibly alternating blood and plasma “.
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