Considerable improvement in blood reserves

The Majorcan blood donors association has expressed its satisfaction at the response to its appeal for donors, following revelations that supplies had dropped to below the minimum. Victor Gistau, the association's president, said that 48 new donors had signed up and 349 donations had been made on Friday and Saturday alone. He added that this meant there had been a considerable improvement in reserves. All this week, the association's mobile unit will be parked in the central squares of Palma. By 1pm yesterday, 20 bags of plasma had been collected in Plaza España. The unit will be parked between 10.30am and 2pm and 5 and 8.30pm in the Porta de Sant Antoni/Via Sindicato today, Plaza Juan Carlos tomorrow and Thursday and the S'Hort del Rei on Friday and Saturday. Majorca needs more than 150 bags of plasma a day. Donors must be aged between 18 and 65, weigh more than 50 kilos. Anyone with body piercing done over the past 12 months, or who has lived in the United Kingdom for up to six months between 1980 and 1996 are ineligible.