The provision of enough blood for blood transfusions on a daily basis is a national asset that can save lives, according to the director of the National Blood Transfusion Centre (NBTC), Alex Aquilina.

Dr Aquilina was speaking at the launch of a Malta Blood Donors Association (MBDA) national campaign aimed at encouraging people to donate blood regularly.

According to the NBTC’s annual reports, the number of new donors has declined progressively over the past six years.

Dr Aquilina said that although there was a slight increase in the number of donations between 2005 and 2006 (from 14,065 to 14,806 donations) this increase was coupled with a reduction in the number of new donors.

The target set by NBTC this year is to increase the number of donations by at least three every day.

Dr Aquilina said that while nobody undergoing an operation ever died as a result of a shortage in the NBTC’s blood supply, operations have had to be postponed because of low blood supplies.

The NBTC’s mission statement “to provide a safe and sustainable blood supply is proven by the blood bank’s excellent record of safety over the years and the very fact that Lm42 is spent on each bag of blood collected”, stated Dr Aquilina.

In its bid to increase the number of donors and blood donations, the MBDA is working closely with its Italian counterpart, AVIS, and the Malta Red Cross.

The campaign is aimed not only at increasing the number of donations and regular donors, but also at encouraging more volunteers to become active within the MBDA.

Dr Aquilina said he believed that having more active volunteers within the association would have an effect on the success rate of the campaign, which is aimed at avoiding urgency when blood supply levels are particularly low.

The MBDA will be promoting the organisation of blood drives at places of work, but because no blood drive can succeed without the necessary awareness, it will be embarking on an information campaign in the media.

It will also be revamping its website and organising information sessions at a number of workplaces and educational institutions.

The association will also be using its Club 25 campaign, a donor-recruitment drive aimed at encouraging young people over 18 years of age to donate blood at least twice a year till they are 25 years old.

Regular donors will also be encouraged to donate blood at least 25 times before they reach the maximum permitted age for donation.

The campaigns will be coupled with the opening of the NBTC’s new premises, a building situated to the left of St Luke’s Hospital, on 4 June and the celebration of World Blood Donor Day on 14 June.

The MBDA’s campaign is being undertaken in collaboration with AVIS, following a memorandum of understanding signed recently between the two associations.

The aim of the agreement is to establish a framework for collaboration in exchange programmes to address information and awareness campaigns regarding voluntary blood donation and donor recruitment.

The national campaign, that was launched yesterday, is managed by Outlook Co-op Ltd, with the assistance of the NBTS, the Malta Red Cross, Waldonet Ltd and a number of individual volunteers.