Mobile blood donation units collected 2,777 bags of blood in 2023, contributing to a record total of 3,477 bags of blood on Lanzarote as a whole.
The blood collected means that 21.9 people in every 1,000 donated blood last year. This, however, does not make the island self-sufficient in blood supplies, which would require a figure of 40 per 1,000.
Blood was collected in all seven municipalities by mobile units from the Canarian Institute of Hemodonation and Hemotherapy, and the success of the campaign seems to have been increased by the fact that donations were taken early in the morning and in the evening.
Arrecife topped the list of municipalities, donating 1,528 bags, 700 of which were collected at the Dr Jose Molina Orosa Hospital. San Bartolomé came next with 783 bags.
The relatively low figures for Tías (400), Yaiza (261) and Teguise (223) may be related to the fact that anyone who lived in the UK for more than six months between 1980 and 1996 remains banned from donating blood in Spain. The ban stems from the CJD (mad cow disease) crisis and is gradually being lifted in other countries.
