The National Blood Bank has started recruiting companies to have blood donors throughout the year.
Melissa Zapata, director of the Blood Bank, stressed that this is one of the strategies to attract volunteer donors to meet the needs of hundreds of patients.
Bank teams visit 3 companies every day so their employees can donate this vital tissue. By doing it, the Bank obtains about 70% of the blood requirements. The remaining 30% is collected through community donations that take place on weekends around the country.
To sign up:
-The company must have an adequate space to assist donor employees.
-There must be a minimum of 40 people who are willing to donate blood.
-The company needs to have good light and ventilation.
-The institution prefers a ground floor or upstairs with elevator to facilitate both the transfer of all donation equipment and for the comfort of the donors.
-The company needs to provide tables and chairs
-The company needs to have sanitary services available.
If your company meets these requirements, you can register it by calling 2283-3121.
If you want to volunteer this year, people will also be served in the central facilities of the Bank, located on the south side of the church of Zapote.
Attention hours: from Monday through Thursday, from 7:00 am to 3:20 pm, on Fridays from 7 am to 2:20 pm and Saturday from 8:00 am to noon.
Zapata urged people to donate blood during the first week of the year in order to meet the hospitals’ requests of blood.
This company supplies 50% of the blood needs of Costa Rica, the other 50% is received through replenishment strategies: this means that a number of donors are asked to inpatients or their relatives.
To donate:
-You must be between 18 and 60 years old.
-You must weigh more than 50 kilos.
-You must have a light breakfast (no fatty or dairy products such as cheeses, margarines, butter, custard, sausages).
-You must drink plenty of fluids.
-You must carry the identity card or residence card.
-You must be healthy.