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Spain lifts ban on blood donations from people who lived in the UK from 1980-1996
Certain UK residents were prevented from donating blood in Spain for more than 25 years because of ‘mad cow’ disease
For more than 25 years, people who lived in the UK between 1980 and 1996 were not allowed to donate blood in Spain because of fears about mad cow disease. That ban has now been lifted.
Mad cow disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy, BSE) is a deadly brain disease in cows. Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) is a related disease in humans caused by eating beef from cows infected by BSE. In Spain, that became a concern when the first human cases were detected in 1996.
In 1998, the European Union made variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease notifiable (i.e. required to be reported) because it could possibly be passed by blood. At the time, scientists expected a large, worldwide outbreak but that never happened.
The Scientific Committee for Transfusion Safety recently gave a recommendation that was favorable to removing the old exclusion rules and the Ministry of Health in Spain agreed.
Now, the exclusion rules for having lived or received transfusions in geographic areas where BSE or vCJD were identified are removed. The prohibition remains only for those with a genetic variant of the disease.
In certain areas of Spain, such as the Balearic Islands, the number of British residents represents a considerable percentage of the total population. According to the latest data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE) for 2022, 19,569 people living in the Balearic Islands were born in the United Kingdom. With this ban, the Balearic community was losing a very significant number of donors.
Although Spain has been self-sufficient in blood components for transfusion for more than 30 years, donations tend to drop in the summer, but not demand. Since blood cannot be stored indefinitely because it expires (red blood cells can be stored for up to 42 days, while platelets only for 5 days), the Ministry of Health reminds everyone of the importance of continuing to donate during the summer. A single blood donation only takes 10 to 15 minutes, enough time to save three or four lives.
Donation criteria from the Ministerio de Sanidad
Here are what the official rules say about who can donate blood in Spain:
- Donor must be 18 years or older.
- For first time donors the upper age limit is 60 years.
- Regular donors (people who have donated before) may in some cases donate up to 65 years, possibly more with medical approval.
- The donor must weigh at least 50 kilos.
- Hemoglobin levels must meet minimums: for women at least 125 g/L, for men at least 135 g/L.
- Time between whole blood donations must be at least 2 months.
- Maximum number of whole blood donations per year: 4 for men and 3 for women.
Image: Pexels
"Authentic Thai flavour — A journey to Thailand on your plate"
Thai Food Khon Kaen Alicante is a Thai restaurant in Alicante city run by Thai people, who cook the traditional cuisine to perfection. As well as Thai food, they also do sushi.
Thai Food Khon Kaen Alicante emerged from the success of the first restaurant in the chain, Thai Food Khon Kaen Torrevieja.
The first restaurant opened its doors on March 13, 2024, in Torrevieja and quickly became a favourite due to the staff's passion for high-quality.
The Alicante restaurant has options for:
- Delivery
- Takeout
- Dine-in
- Online booking
- Reservations
- In-store pickup
Menu
Summer opening times
Tuesday to Sunday, 6pm until midnight.
Contact details for orders and bookings
- Address: Calle Isabel La Catolica 22, Alicante, Spain
- Telephone: 0034 661 377 065
- Email: thaifoodkhonkaenalicante@gmail.com
- Facebook: Thai Food Khon Kaen Alicante
Where is it?
