“We were already aware, namely the Hospital Santa Maria [in Lisbon] and the Hospital de Évora, that they had very complicated blood levels and that they were already doing some reflection when it comes to surgical interventions, because we always have to have a reserve , particularly for accidents or specific cases that appear”, said the president of the federation, Alberto Mota.

Alberto Mota was speaking to Lusa after the director of the Blood Service at Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Norte/Hospital de Santa Maria, Álvaro Beleza, told Rádio Renascença (RR) that that hospital unit had been forced to postpone non-urgent surgeries.

“We had to postpone some scheduled surgeries, that is, which were not urgent, because there was a huge shortage, namely group A and 0, but group A was the worst. It was a difficult situation”, the doctor described to RR.

To Lusa, Alberto Mota explained that “reserves need to increase”, saying that 2024 is “a very complicated year when it comes to reserves”.

“It’s extraordinary. Every year we know that in January and February we have a drop in blood donors due to infections, flu and all these situations. This year, by the way, were actually the best months, then, from March until today, we don't understand why groups A and 0, whether negative or positive, have been falling and it is not possible to raise these reserve levels”, he lamented.

The president of Fepodabes also acknowledged that in the summer there is usually “a drop in reserves”, but this normally only happens in mid-August.

“We are already in the month of July and we are experiencing great difficulties. We know that we have had the problem of covid-19, it is true, it has kept people from coming to donate blood, there are respiratory infections, yes, but we also don't understand why these four groups are so low and it is not possible to increase the number of donors”, he highlighted.

Pointing to the campaign “GIVE BLOOD THIS SUMMER - WHAT'S BETTER THAN GIVING BLOOD AND GOING ON VACATION?”, Alberto Mota once again appealed to people to donate blood before going on vacation, noting that between 1,000 and 1,100 units of blood are needed every day.

“We need to have around 800 to 900 people available to be able to donate every day. We need to have more regular donors: men every three months and women every four months, to see if we can increase these reserves, which are currently low,” he added.

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