“The decision has been made and a process to introduce it is under way,” GeBlod press spokesperson Ulrika Ljung told The Local when we contacted the blood donor organisation on Friday.
We were not told of concrete plans to introduce English-language blood donation in any other regions at this stage.
The reason it’s only possible to donate blood in Swedish in most regions is because the donor must fully understand the health declaration they must sign, which ensures the blood is safe.
Five years ago, Stockholm became the first region in Sweden to translate the relevant material and train staff in medical English. But as healthcare is run at a regional level, it is up to individual regions to decide whether to make this possible in their regions.
FACT CHECK:
Sweden needs more blood to be able to cope with crisis situations, GeBlod warned in a statement on June 14th as part of the World Blood Donor Day campaign. Yet the number of people who signed up as blood donors in 2023 fell by 14 percent compared to the year before.
Although Sweden is self-sufficient in blood, it said the number of blood donors needs to double to strengthen preparedness for a potential attack or crisis.
Sixty percent of donated blood in 2023 was donated by people over the age of 45.
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