Blood banks in the United States are
increasing efforts to recruit Latino Blood donors. The population is
estimated to be over 18% Latino. In some areas, this number exceeds
35%. This Latino population percentage is increasing. Therefore, the
need for Latino Blood donors in increasing. Present estimates
indicate that less than 4% of Latino (Hispanics) are Blood donors.
Latino are the most likely group to have type O Blood. While in the
U. S. population, approximately 45% of the general population has type
O Blood, Latino Blood contains important antibodies, unique to the
Latino population. Additionally, many Latinos carry a rare
antigen in their Blood which could save lives needing that exact
Blood. A reported 71% of Blood donors in Mexico
are type O; 54% of Blood donors in Venezuela, and 62% in Guatemala are
type O Blood donors.
It is believed that the low Latino Blood donor rates among American
Latinos are because the majority of Donor-aged Latino Blood donors
are recent immigrants who are not comfortably familiar with the Blood
collection system in the U. S. In Latin America, as in many parts of
the world, Blood banks are rare. In these areas, there is great
reliance on "replacement" donations from family and friends. Many
Blood collection facilities are not 'Latino friendly,' that is,
there are language and cultural barriers. Further, there might be a
'trust' problem caused by the requirement to show a valid ID to donate
Blood.
There is often another problem when dealing with Hispanic/Latino
Blood donors. It is thought that this Hispanic and Latino population
group fluctuates and it is comparatively
difficult to contact people in this population group once they are
identified as Hispanic Blood donors. There are frequently cases of
Hispanic/Latino individuals who have been identified as Blood donors
and listed in various communities, but when
attempts to contact them are made a few months later, they are no longer living at
the addresses listed. Generally, the Hispanic community has not established itself firmly
in many communities outside of the Southwestern United States.
There is often another problem when dealing with Latino Blood donors.
It is thought that this Latino and population group fluctuates and it is
comparatively
difficult to contact people in this population group once they are
identified as Latino Blood donors. There are frequently cases of
Latino individuals who have been identified as Blood donors and listed in
the community, but when attempts to contact them are made months later, they are no longer living at
the addresses listed. Generally, the Latino has not established itself firmly
in many communities outside of the Southwestern United States.
Click
HERE
for a chart of Latino and world ABO Blood types, by population
group.
The Red Cross a Spanish translated its Blood donation Web site:
www.cruzrojaamericana.org. |