The Rotary Blood Donation Day is slated to take place this Saturday at the NOVA Mall in Taipa, with the event continuing the aim of ensuring that there is enough supply of blood reserves in Macau.
The event, initiated by the Rotary Club of Macau’s past president Alfredo Ritchie in 2001, marks its 25th year and is organised by Macau’s eight rotary clubs in conjunction with the Macao Blood Transfusion Service of the Health Bureau (SSM), according to a statement yesterday by the Rotary District 3450.
The statement noted that, according to the latest figures, 13,740 people donated blood last year, a year-on-year decrease of 3.2 percent. The statement added that the number of blood donations was 20,587 and 2,899 were first-time donors, a decrease of 13.6 percent.
Moreover, citing the latest data from the Blood Transfusion Service, the statement noted that the number and percentage of first-time blood donors have been declining year by year, dropping from 30 percent in 2018 to 21.1 percent, being mainly due to a decrease in the number of blood donors among university and secondary school students.
The statement pointed out: “The number of university students donating blood in 2024 had decreased significantly compared to previous years, dropping by 3.5 percent. The number of secondary students donating blood has been on a downward trend since 2019, remaining at a low level of around 2 percent, whereas in 2015, 9 percent of blood donors were secondary school students”.
The declining participation of youngsters could possibly lead to a shortage in the city’s blood supply in the future, the statement pointed out, with a special appeal made by the organisers for youngsters in Macau to donate blood.
The Rotary Blood Donation Day is slated to take place from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Nova Mall on Saturday.
This photo shows guests attending yesterday’s press conference at NOVA Mall in Taipa. – Photo: MPDG
