Update on the characteristics of blood donations. Availability, attitudes and influencing factors

Introduction: Blood is a fluid of living cells, the quantity of which can be affected by various causes. Blood transfusions are essential in the treatment of multiple medical situations that cannot be treated with other procedures. They can occur as a result of voluntary, replacement and paid donations. This research was carried out with the aim of characterizing the blood donation process. Methods: a bibliography review was carried out, where 30 articles in Spanish and English were selected, published in the last five years on the subject, in databases such as: Scopus, Scielo, Pubmed, Springer. Results: blood donation is a social fact. The current shortage of blood donations is due to an inefficient blood supply system, in which replacement donation predominates, although voluntary donation is the most popular form of donation. This suggests a failure in primary health care and its promotional value, due to the lack of education and culture of donation in the world population. Donations are also affected by political, social and psychological aspects. Conclusions: the low number of donations worldwide determines the presence of the unavailability of blood for transfusion as one of the current health problems. The process occurs mainly voluntarily and is affected by factors such as educational level, socioeconomic characteristics, fears, lack of education and culture on the subject.