We need more and more blood

THE 17TH National Blood Donation Week, which kicks off on Monday, will see a series of donation events aimed at boosting the country’s blood resources.

At a press conference yesterday, the Blood Donation Society (SEAD) said Cyprus’ blood requirements rose by around six per cent a year. In 1997, 41, 264 bottles of blood were needed, and the number is always increasing due to the ever-greater number of accidents, special surgical procedures and cardiac surgery.

On average, 113 bottles of blood are needed every day to meet the needs of 102 patients. SEAD has always managed to juggle blood donations so that Cyprus has never had to bring in blood from overseas.

At the time of SEAD’s creation 21 years ago, the country needed just 12,500 bottles of blood, but blood donors were so scarce, just three per cent of that figure was held in reserves.

The blood drive will see mass appeals to the public to donate blood, with several high-profile events taking place during the week, including the donation of blood by Deputies and members of other organisations. For the 12th year running, cyclist Michael Agrotis will also cycle from Paphos to Nicosia in order to raise awareness.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.