< Blood Service News - 23.02.2011

Blood donation figures for 2010: Good levels of donors

Last year, Finns donated blood a total of 270,000 times. Donated blood was sufficient to meet patient needs, and there were no serious blood shortages. As in previous years, over 12% of donors were new.

Last year, over 171,000 individuals offered to donate blood. 154,000 of them actually did. Women comprised 54% of donors, and men 46%. First-time donors amounted to more than 12% of the total.

‘Last year, donors were invited to donate more actively than before. We wanted to emphasise the importance of regular donations, and encourage donors to visit Blood Services two to three times a year’, says Juha Soikkeli, Development Director at the Finnish Red Cross Blood Services.

In all age groups, the proportion of female donors is slightly higher than that of men. However, male blood donors tend to donate more frequently than women. The largest single age group of female donors is 21- to 25-year-olds. Overall, middle-aged men and women continue to be the most active donors.

Volume of donations was sufficient throughout the year

Last year, a total of 270,000 bags of blood were collected, representing a fall of less than 1% compared to the previous year. The number of individual blood donors was approximately 2% less than in 2009. Correspondingly, hospitals used fewer red-cell products than before. Blood is collected only to the extent it is needed, so the number of donations varies annually.

In the autumn of 2010, media attention focused on the consultant service procurement activities of FRCBS’s then Chief Executive. The uncertainty and ensuing police investigation caused some confusion, and evidently affected the willingness of some donors to donate during that time. However, the total number of donors remained adequate all through the autumn, and no shortages of blood occurred. This is an indication of donors’ strong commitment to help patients.

Even though Finns are active blood donors, FRCBS has, during the past couple of years, needed to invite donors more frequently than before, and use advertising to reach them. Hospitals are currently using lower amounts of red blood cells but greater amounts of platelets, which are usable only for a short period. As a result, more blood donors are needed at short notice.
The sufficiency of blood donors is never self-evident. 2011 has, however, begun promisingly.

- ‘January is usually fairly quiet, but we are encouraged by current donor activity. With two to three visits to the Blood Service each year, a blood donor can help approximately nine patients’, Soikkeli explains.

Cutting the mandatory waiting time after colds improved the preconditions for donating

Approximately 11% of screened visitors were not eligible to give blood. Typical reasons included low haemoglobin levels, surgery or other medical operations, a recent tattoo or piercing, or travel abroad.

After the change in the waiting period for common colds last year, cold-related reasons fell by more than half. Today it is possible to donate after the symptoms of a cold (sore throat, head cold, cough) have passed and the donor feels healthy.

However, if you have a doctor’s sick leave note because of a cold or have been taken ill with influenza or some other respiratory infection and have a temperature of over 38°C, you cannot donate blood until a minimum of two weeks have passed since your recovery. Two weeks must also have passed since you have completed a course of prescribed medicine, such as antibiotics.

– To find out in advance whether you are eligible to donate blood, you can call our free helpline or take our online test for donors. Thanks to these new services, we have been able to cut the number of visitors who are not eligible to give blood.

Aiming for regular donations

In Finland, over 1,000 donors are needed every day to ensure an uninterrupted supply of blood components to hospitals. Donors from all blood groups are needed every day.

On average, donors attend donation sessions 1.7 times a year. For men the average is slightly higher than for women, because the donation interval is shorter for men.

– We hope that donors will visit two to three times a year. Regular donors will help us to ensure an uninterrupted supply of blood products for the future.

You can donate blood at any of Finland’s 16 Blood Service donor centres and at donor sessions arranged by mobile blood collection units. FRCBS's mobile collection units organise donation sessions all around Finland, visiting major employers, garrisons and schools, for example. Last year, there were approximately 1,350 mobile unit donation sessions accounting for 40% of the total blood collected

’We have increased the number of donation sessions in places where there are a lot of people aged 18 to 65 (who are eligible to give blood)’, Soikkeli explains.