Hospitals warn that scheduled surgery could be postponed as stocks of O positive blood run critically low nationwide.
Italy’s Centro Nazionale Sangue (National Blood Centre, CNS) has sounded the alarm over a nationwide blood shortage, warning that hospitals across the country are struggling to maintain adequate stocks for transfusions and surgery.
The CNS said supplies of O positive blood — the group most commonly used in transfusions — are running particularly low, with Lazio among the worst-affected regions alongside Campania and Sicily.
No region holds a surplus
The CNS said no Italian region currently holds a surplus of blood that could be redistributed to the areas worst affected. Normally, hospitals in a shortfall can draw on stocks from elsewhere in the country, but that system of inter-regional compensation is now under strain.
Rome’s Croce Rossa, along with the Umberto I and Gemelli hospitals, have issued fresh appeals to donors returning from their summer break. They have warned that a continued shortfall could force the postponement of planned operations and put urgent transfusions at risk.
A recurring late-summer problem
The shortage is a familiar late-summer issue in Italy, driven by holidaymakers leaving the cities and donors put off by the heat, even as hospitals continue to need blood year-round for scheduled operations, cancer treatment and emergencies.
CNS director Luciana Teofili said it was still too early to give a full assessment of the summer’s donation figures, though inter-regional compensation had worked reasonably well through August. Donor association Fidas has also issued a nationwide call for more people to come forward.
National data shows that donors aged 46 to 55 make up the largest share of Italy’s donor base, while donations from 18 to 25-year-olds remain the lowest and continue to decline.
How and where to donate
Anyone wishing to donate must be in good health, weigh at least 50 kilograms, and be aged between 18 and 70 (or under 60 for first-time donors). Donations can be booked directly through a hospital transfusion centre or through a donor association such as Avis or Fidas.
- To find your nearest donation centre, visit www.avis.it
- In Lazio, the regional health authority Salute Lazio publishes a monthly collection calendar and list of donation centres on its website
- Rome residents can also take part in a special donation day organised by Adnkronos and Avis Roma on Thursday 10 September, from 08.30, in Piazza Mastai, Trastevere
