The National Hemocenter, the government blood bank, opened this week to serve the population. The blood bank receives blood donations that are stored and preserved for later use in blood transfusion.
The center’s director, Dr. Pedro Sing said that it will begin servicing blood to the Ney Arias (400 units per month), Reynaldo Almánzar (250 units per month) and Hugo de Mendoza (150 units per month) public hospitals located in the Ciudad de la Salud Evangelina Rodríguez in eastern Santo Domingo.
The Hemocentro Nacional also acts as a blood collection center, receiving, processing, testing, separation, and storing blood for future use. A blood bank-truck will go to any community where 25+ persons want to donate, be this a church, community or club, explained Dr. Sing.
The blood bank is encouraging Dominicans to donate blood. To be a donor, the person must have a legal ID, be between 18 and 65 years old, a hematocrit level above 40 and be disease-free. Those who have had a piercing or tattoo must wait a year before being acceptable to donate blood.
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El Caribe
16 June 2021