Only eight units of plasma remain in the Armenian blood bank

From the Red Cross they explain that the covid-19 and the winter wave have kept citizens away from the donation posts. Photo: Camila Díaz, Colprensa.
The directors of the Armenian sectional Red Cross warned that the blood bank currently only has eight units of blood available, so they invite the community to donate.

According to local media information, of the eight remaining units, two correspond to O+ and two to A+, that are kept in the refrigerators available in the event of an alert.

The director of the Armenian section of the Red Cross, Cristina Rodríguez Mejía, explained that the covid-19 and the winter wave that has hit the department have kept the public away from the donation posts.

“Despite the fact that we have different social networks, we do education about donation, we consider that the lack of knowledge about the respective donation is a problem”, affirmed the director to La Crónica del Quindío

He also invited the media to join the donation campaigns in order to encourage the community to approach the Red Cross headquarters in Quindío. “We need them to show solidarity and motivate people to visit us and help us with the blood.”

In the same direction, from the Quindío Red Cross branch, its president, María Ivonne Duque Jiménez, explained that “Of course, the donations made by people will be used to strengthen our projects and programs in order to continue the attention and immediate response to emergencies that may arise and thus attend to people who are in a vulnerable condition as it should be.”.

In addition, he specified that another way in which the public can help the Red Cross is through the piggy banks that are at the institution’s headquarters on Avenida Bolívar number 23 north 60, in the different shopping centers of the capital of Quindío, where they They have opened the doors to the members of the Red Cross to have the piggy banks available.

Finally, President Duque Jiménez recalled that those who wish to make Economic donations can be made through the Bancolombia account 765687845200, in the name of the Colombian Red Cross Sectional Quindío.

The Ministry of Justice revealed on May 12 the results of the study on the prevalence of HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C and syphilis and associated behaviors in people who inject drugs, which was carried out last year.

The study was carried out with entities led by the Ministry of Justice and Law, together with the Ministry of Health and Social Protection and the Territorial Development Promotion Company (ENTerritorio), in coordination with the Salutia Foundation and the CES University.

The study was carried out in six Colombian cities and estimated the prevalence of the aforementioned diseases, and also analyzed the behaviors associated with the use of psychoactive substances in people aged 18 and over who inject drugs.

Between June and December of the previous year, a targeted sampling was carried out involving 1,733 people who inject drugs in Bogotá, Cali, Medellín, Pereira, Armenia and Cúcuta and in which a structured survey was applied. The diagnosis of the four diseases was achieved thanks to the application of rapid tests that are used in population screening programs and require a blood sample.

It should be noted that among the population characterized in the capitals of Quindío and Norte de Santander -where the highest prevalences occur- more than 60% were between 25 and 44 years old, earned less than one minimum wage and belonged to the subsidized regime. Regarding substance use, the highest prevalences were related to heroin, marijuana, alcohol cigarettes, basuco and methadone.