Council officials meet with blood and tissue bank representatives

Trobada banc de sang i teixits amb consell reduxFormentera Council president Jaume Ferrer, together with Vanessa Parellada and Sònia Cardona, the island's secretaries of social welfare and citizen participation, sat down this morning with two representatives from a regional blood and tissue bank. Ismael Gutiérrez and Estela Bellorini are, respectively, the Fundació Banc de Sanc i Teixits's director general and coordinator for Eivissa and Formentera.

In addition to serving as a progress report on the Fundació's efforts on the island, the gathering confirmed a 10% uptick in local donors last year, when 45 new registrations were recorded.

Despite frequently modest donations (only 21 in 1000 Formenterencs give blood or tissues), officials on both sides expressed high hopes the figure would continue to increase in 2018. The goal, they said, is to maximise collaborative efforts with groups on the island to educate the public and turn out potential donors.

Donating drives
Five blood and tissue drives are scheduled this year. The first, today, will go from 3.00pm to 7.30pm in the Formentera hospital. The next will take place on Monday, April 23.

The Formentera Council takes an active role in wellness and disease-prevention campaigns on the island.