Spain's first street-level blood bank opens in L'Hospitalet

Catalonia's Blood and Tissue Bank (BST) opened Spain's first street-level, non-hospital blood donation center in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat Monday, to replace the donation point at Bellvitge Hospital, which closed Friday. 

Located in the Santa Eulàlia neighborhood of the city, which borders Barcelona, the BST views this move as a new strategy to bring blood donation closer to people's daily lives, addressing the decline at hospital-based donation sites since the pandemic. 

The center also aims to attract new donors, particularly young people, following a 44% drop in first-time donations at Bellvitge between 2019 and 2024.

The new center, located at 12 Jacint Verdaguer Street, operated on a trial basis during August and September, but is now fully operational, open Monday through Friday from 9am-8pm and Saturdays from 9am-2:30pm.

According to the BST, the pandemic altered public habits and reduced the time patients and their companions spend in hospitals. This has impacted the fixed donation sites located at Catalonia's twelve main hospitals, which have yet to recover pre-COVID-19 donation figures.

With this new model, the organization aims to move donation services to a space integrated into the neighborhood, one that is more accessible and connected to daily life. 

The Santa Eulàlia center is close to the Santa Eulàlia and Ciutat de la Justícia metro stations and the Ildefons Cerdà FGC rail station; it also serves nearby neighborhoods in L'Hospitalet (such as La Torrassa, Collblanc, and Granvia) and Barcelona (such as Badal and Zona Franca).

Another goal of the change is to encourage generational renewal. More than half of the users at the Bellvitge center are aged between 45 and 65, and the BST hopes the new street-level location will attract younger donors.

Despite the relocation of the donation site, the Blood Bank is maintaining its team at Bellvitge Hospital to manage patient transfusions. The BST is responsible for transfusion services at 13 hospitals in the public network and supplies blood components to hospitals and clinics in Catalonia.