“It’s time to help – Give blood” is the motto of the campaign launched by the federation that aims to “raise awareness” of the need to donate blood.

The president of Fepobades, Alberto Mota, told Lusa agency that an increase in the number of young donors has been noted in recent weeks, but it is still insufficient to guarantee “a more sustainable response to all needs”.

Alberto Mota explained that “the time of winter, of the flu, keeps traditional blood donors away a lot" and, therefore, the federation decided to make this call for attention, so that all donors who gave blood more than three months ago, in in the case of men, and for more than four months, in the case of women, do so again.

“Even those who have not yet donated blood, come to this cause because every day we need 1,000 to 1,100 units of blood”, he highlighted.

For Alberto Mota, it is essential to “raise awareness of the need for blood and appeal to all interested citizens and young donors, particularly in the most needy blood groups, B-; A+; A-; 0+ and 0-”.

“All citizens over 18 years of age, who weigh more than 50 kilos and who are healthy can donate blood. This simple gesture helps save many lives.”

The federation recalls that blood collection is a quick procedure, taking around 30 minutes, and can help save several people, as a single unit of blood can help up to three lives.

Information on official blood collection locations is available at www.fepodabes.pt and on the www.dador.pt portal .