Blood donation has moved to Vantaa – the aim is to attract more new donors
From 15 January 2024, blood donors will be able to donate at the Blood Service’s new site at the Jumbo-Flamingo shopping centre in Vantaa. The Blood Service hopes that the new, permanent location will be able to reach more people and expand the donor base.
“Jumbo-Flamingo is one of the busiest shopping centres not only in the capital region, but in Finland overall, and it is easy to get to by car and public transport. There are a lot of people at the shopping centre who we hope will donate blood while they are shopping or doing other errands,” explains Pirjo Grön from the Blood Service.
The central location also facilitates the logistics of blood supply. All blood products in Finland are produced at the Blood Service’s headquarters in Vehkala, Vantaa, just a few kilometres from the Jumbo-Flamingo donation site.
“The blood donated at the new donation site will continue its journey to Vehkala for production and the products will be sent on to hospitals very quickly,” Grön says.
A wide range of opportunities to help patients
At the new donation site, you can donate blood as usual, but from late February, you will also be able to donate plasma in addition to platelets. The new site at Jumbo-Flamingo will also house the Blood Service’s mobile operations base in Southern Finland.
“Our Vantaa office will be the most extensive and diverse in terms of blood donation operations. Donors can help patients in three different ways. Among other things, the move strengthens our readiness to collect and deliver plasma as a pharmaceutical raw material, which is currently in short supply in Europe,” says Pirjo Grön.
Three permanent donation sites in the capital region
The Blood Service will now have three permanent blood donation sites in the capital region, one of which is in the Sanomatalo building in the Helsinki city centre, and the other is in the Iso Omena shopping centre in Espoo. As before, blood donation events will also be organised in the capital region, and the Blood Donation Bus which started operating last autumn, will also tour the region.
The move to Vantaa saw the end of operations at the donation site in Kivihaka in Helsinki. The Blood Service had operated in the Kivihaka property since 1972.
