“In the summer there is a historic drop in donations, we launch this preventive appeal because this is the period in which we always suffer: a great risk for thalassemia which are many in Sicily.” Talking is Pietro GiannopoloDirector of Lymph Red, Blood Donors Palermo Odvthat Monday, together with the doctor Aurelio Maggiodirector of hematology department and rare diseases of combined Sofia and Brain hospitalsinvited the population to donate blood.
A chronic shortage in Sicily, which usually draws blood from Emilia Romagna at this time of year to make up for the deficit. The national health system works “by compensation – explains Giannopolo -, so that if in some regions there is a greater demand, the blood is transferred from those where donations are highest. This happens both between regions and within the regions themselves. And while a Messina the lowest number of donors is recorded in Sicily, Palermo is the capital which is suffering the most especially because Palermo some of the most important centers for both transplants and other pathologies are located, so although the number of donations is not lower than in other cities, the demand for blood is however higher than in the rest of the island”.
In the capital, the donation center is the Cervello-Sofia hospital, from which the appeal started today: “Su 7 thousand thalassemia patients in Italy, 2500 are in Sicilyof these 1500 need one transfusion every 15 days, these are 6 thousand transfusions per month. Annual donations are around 60 thousandthat’s why we can’t do it,” continues Giannopolo.
In the Brain alone there are “300 chronically ill patients, of which 200 are thalassemia and 100 have sickle cell anemia. In these subjects, if the waiting times for receiving blood exceed ten daysboth the heart and the liver suffer, because it begins to fail oxygen in the blood, they will also have a great sense of tiredness when doing things, because every muscle will be in difficulty. In addition to physical problems, there are also psychological ones because these people live in constant expectation of blood bag, they can’t plan anything, they often can’t go on holiday and depression takes over. If the chronic patient receives blood iron accumulates in the blood several times late which, together with the lack of oxygen, increases the suffering of the heart and liver and in general of all the patients’ muscles”.
The appeal arises from this particular situation: “I appeal to all the people of Palermo – adds Giannopolo – and to the regular donors to come and donate blood before going in vacation and also to new donors to make this gesture of love. Palermo is a very supportive and generous city in blood donation, but since in the city we also have several marrow transplant recipients at the Cervello and Ismet hospitals, who need immediate blood, the supplies run out and we get into difficulty with thalassemia and anemics ”.
