World Blood Donor Day: Kick-off in the RCI car park 

The French Blood Establishment of Martinique organized several collections of blood donation points throughout the week, as a part of the World Blood Donor day celebrations on June 14th. 

The operation was named "All donors, all caregivers". 

Its official kick-off will be launched on Tuesday, June 14, with 3 collection points: Sainte-Marie, Marin and Fort-de-France.

Richard Mindeau, communication manager of the French Blood Establishment in Martinique, talks about the speciality  of the system this year:

“We will be accompanied by a lot of artists and associations that support us. This year is a bit special, because we are coming out of two years of the health crisis, and this day is also an opportunity to thank all the blood donors who have continued to support us.”

The main goal is to mobilize the usual donors, but also to recruit new candidates in the context of a worrying decline in blood bank reserves. Since Covid, a third of new annual donors have been lost because collection points, such as businesses and schools, are less accessible with health measures and teleworking.

Richard Mindeau highlights the importance of this type of operation:

“We organize collections six days a week, and these donations save lives every day in Martinique. Last year, we transfused about 3,000 patients, and we need about 15,000 blood donations a year to cover our needs. This is also why we will not confine ourselves to this World Blood Donor Day alone, on June 14, but we intend to mobilize the population all week, even all month.”

There are more than 7,000 active donors in Martinique. However, half of them donate blood only once a year. The number of donors is not adequate to meet the needs of the area. 

These blood donations are used for surgical operations and emergency situation such as road accidents, for the elderly, pregnant women and sickle cell patients. 

The blood donation drive will last until Saturday with other collection points set up at Le Lamentin and Schoelcher. 

Mobile collections contribute 80 to 85% of donations. And on average, 300 mobile blood drives are organized every year.