There are currently too few blood donors. There is a shortage of men in particular. Pentti Attila from Lahti will stop donating blood because he will soon be too old.
The blood service is constantly in need of new and regular blood donors.
For example, young women donate blood the most in Lahti, but there is especially a shortage of regular male donors.
He donated his last bag of blood at the Lahti Blood Service on Monday. Attila turns 71 on Sunday. The donor’s upper age limit is 70 years.
– It feels good when I have been able to help many people. I hope the young people will be inspired to give up when I get out of these patterns.
Attila calculates that he has donated a total of more than 250 liters of blood during his life.
– I have all the handover slips saved. The longest break was when I spent part of my time in Germany. I didn’t go regularly then.
The blood service has room for new donors
According to the Blood Service of the Finnish Red Cross, 113,000 people registered to donate blood in Finland last year. About 60 percent of them were women.
On average, a blood donor donates blood once or twice a year.
SPR reminds that donating blood is safe and in the hands of professionals.
New blood donors are constantly needed. According to the Blood Service, there are currently too few blood donors overall. In particular, even more men are wanted to surrender.
A larger number of active blood donors than at present is also important to ensure security of supply in all conditions and changing situations. In addition, every day some of those who previously donated blood have to stop donating blood, for example due to illness or aging.
You can donate blood for the first time between the ages of 18 and 59. You can easily test your blood donation suitability on the SPR’s Blood Service website.
Blood products help many
Pentti Attila is involved in the activities of the Blood Donors group, but now it’s time for new things.
– I will continue to speak in favor of donating blood. And you don’t know that if in the future I will be on the receiving end, for example due to surgery.
The blood donated at the Lahti Blood Service goes to Helsinki, where it is divided into three parts: red cells, platelets and plasma. Products are distributed to hospitals according to orders.
– For example, cancer patients, surgery patients, accident victims and small premature babies receive blood products, says the responsible nurse Satu Koskela.
_You can discuss the topic until Wednesday 31 August 2022 at 11 pm._