Bringing science and technology closer to the public and promoting scientific vocations among the youngest have been the two main objectives of Science Week in Catalonia since it started 26 years ago. After all this time, this is the first time that activities have been offered by companies in the sector, and they have done so with the help of CataloniaBio & HealthTech.
What is the route the blood takes once it comes out of the donor’s arm? Now dozens of people know the answer, those who took part in the guided tours throughout the morning of Saturday 13 November at the headquarters of the Blood and Tissue Bank, members of CataloniaBio & HealthTech. They also learned that the path of blood donations is not the only one, that they also work with stem cells, with all kinds of tissues, and how they are treated from the time they are given, how they are stored and how they get to help patients who need it. In short, how these altruistic donations become medicine and how important these acts of generosity are.
At the Blood and Tissue Bank they also carry out research and visitors were able to see how they work in clean rooms, very special spaces to work on advanced therapies. Much more in the current affairs, they could see how the spaces of the building had to be adapted during the pandemic to respond to the clinical laboratories needs and how they made space to store the first doses that were arriving in Catalonia of covid vaccines in suitable freezers, to be distributed to vaccination centres.
This was not the only activity in the Frederic Duran i Jordà Building (those who visited also know why the building is named after him), also a dozen children and adults learned how to regenerate skin, red blood cells and bones through a game of clues. A workshop led by Joaquim Vives, head of the area of development of advanced therapies at the Blood and Tissue Bank, with a game that allowed to build a puzzle thanks to the collaboration of all. A bit, how the search works.
Science Week is organized by the Catalan Foundation for Research and Innovation, with the support of the Department of Research and Universities of the Generalitat and the collaboration of Fundació “la Caixa”, Amgen and BBVA.
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