Panama blood banks in need of donors

Only 15% of donations to Panama’s blood bank come from voluntary donations, the rest come from family members of patients.
The figure is well below that recommended by The World Health Organization (WHO) and differs dramatically from countries like Germany, where 80% of the donations come from male volunteers.
The worst months for Panama are November and December, and at Carnival time said Arinda Aleman, director of the blood bank at the children’s hospital (Hospital del Nino) where donations have decreased this year from 3,492 to 2,997.
The major challenge facing the country she told La Prensa is to increase the number of voluntary donations. Hospitals are performing periodic tours to various companies, but are hoping people will step forward and donate at a local hospital. To be a donor needs only a 30 minute visit to one of 27 hospitals with blood banks in the country. Donors must be over 18 and have not suffered from blood-borne diseases.