"Despite all the efforts of hundreds of professionals in different areas, and the "Secret Friend" blood donation campaign, it was not possible to meet the needs of all blood components for surgeries, which created surgical constraints at ULS Santa Maria", said IPST in a statement.

The institute also assured that it is monitoring the situation at ULS Santa Maria, in Lisbon, as well as in the rest of the country, and added that the most affected blood groups are "A positive", "O positive" and "B negative".

According to the IPST, holiday periods and people moving away from their area of ​​residence traditionally make it “always more difficult to maintain reserves at comfortable levels” at this time of year.

“This year, however, instability during this period began to occur earlier, with the atypical and unprecedented situation of an increase in cases of infectious and respiratory diseases and Covid-19”, the institute reaffirmed, ensuring that, in view of this, it reinforced the request to donors and potential donors for a new blood donation.

The entity that permanently monitors blood reserves at a national level also said that the planning of collection sessions takes into account the constraints of this time of year, with blood collection taking place in holiday locations.

Portuguese hospitals need approximately 1,100 units of blood per day to meet the needs of patients.

The IPST, which is responsible for around 60% of blood collections in Portugal, with the remaining 40% collected by hospital services, reiterated that there are no contraindications for a healthy adult to donate.

To be a blood donor, a person must be over 18 years old, weigh 50 kilos or more, and be in good health, the institute recalled, highlighting that a donation takes approximately 30 minutes and can help save up to three lives.

Information on official blood collection locations is available at www.fepodabes.pt and on the www.dador.pt portal.