The Ministry of Health announced on March 21 that it is inviting the public to donate blood at various collection points in Lima and other regions this weekend.
Blood donations are important for patients who need emergency surgeries, cancer treatments, or have suffered burns. Dr. Luis Alberto Atuncar Ramos, director of the General Directorate of Donations, Transplants and Blood Bank, said that one unit of blood can save up to three people. “This resource is vital for oncology patients, people who have suffered burns, mothers with complicated births or those undergoing urgent surgery,” Atuncar Ramos said.
In Lima, donation centers are available at several shopping malls: Rambla San Borja (Monday to Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.), Real Plaza Centro Cívico (Monday to Friday from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.), Open Plaza Atocongo (Thursday to Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.), Minka (Thursday to Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.), and Real Plaza Primavera on March 20, 21, 28 and 31 from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Collection points are also set up in other regions. In Arequipa, donations can be made at Real Plaza Arequipa on Fridays from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.; in Piura at Plaza La Luna during the first week of each month from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., Real Plaza Piura during the second week of each month from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., and Open Plaza Piura during the third week of each month in the same hours; in Cajamarca at Real Plaza on Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; in Huancayo at Parque Huamamarca on Mondays from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.; and in Cusco at the San Antonio collection post from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
To donate blood, individuals must be between ages eighteen and sixty, weigh more than fifty kilograms, and be in good health. The process is described as safe and quick with staff following strict biosecurity protocols.
“Men can donate every three months and women every four,” Atuncar Ramos said.
