The figures are based on the answers to the question ‘Are you a blood donor?’ in the written questionnaire of the health module of the Permanent Life Situation Survey (POLS). Respondents who answered ‘longer than 2 years ago’ to the subsequent question on when they had last given blood, are not counted as blood donors. The figures for 2007-2009 have been combined to get a larger sample and thus a smaller margin of error. The figures in this article are based on answers of more than 15 thousand people aged 18-69 years. The estimates on the basis of POLS correspond to the data from Sanquin Blood Supply Foundation (www.sanquin.nl). This organisation came into being in 1998 following the merger of the Dutch blood banks and the central laboratory of the Dutch red cross organisation. Under legislation on the blood supply, Sanquin is the only organisation in the Netherlands concerned with the supply of and demand for blood and blood products.
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