Crisis at Canaries Blood Bank Following Leadership Shake-Up
Iván Santiago Falcón stepped down as the director of Blood Donation and Transfusion for the Government of the Canary Islands on 13 October 2025, amid a significant crisis. His departure followed a dramatic decline in blood donations, a suspension of numerous operations, and the loss of over 3,500 plasma bags due to equipment failures.
The Health Minister, Esther Monzón, has referred to Falcón’s resignation as his “own request,” but soon after, he was reassigned to her cabinet with an annual salary of almost £50,000. This amount is notably less than the £67,000 typically earned by a director general in the Islands.
Falcón, who had led the newly established Directorate General of Blood Donation since January 2025, previously held no medical experience or specific qualifications in the healthcare sector. His background was primarily in administrative roles, having worked for various organisations including Ralons and the sports club Unión Deportiva Las Palmas.
During Falcón’s brief tenure, the blood bank faced severe operational challenges, resulting in a staffing loss of about 60 employees—around one-third of its workforce. This mass departure severely hindered the bank’s ability to conduct successful blood drives, causing reserves to hit critical lows and putting several surgical operations on hold.
Blood donations dropped from 60,728 bags in 2024 to 59,106 in 2025, marking the first time the annual total fell below 60,000. In interviews, Falcón described these suspensions as “minor rescheduling issues” and attributed the challenges to bureaucratic delays in hiring new staff after the blood bank’s integration into the Canary Island Health Service.
Falcón’s leadership was also questioned in the local parliament; representatives accused him of poor management, noting the need for urgent medical services while the blood bank struggled. Furthermore, a recent parliamentary report revealed the loss of plasma, causing additional strain on the healthcare budget as the government had to purchase plasma urgently.
In a further blow to the blood bank’s staffing during Falcón’s time, the decision to dissolve staff committees in June 2025 led to the elimination of representation for over 200 employees, right after protests regarding operational chaos and staffing shortages. This decision was later overturned by the Canary Islands’ High Court for infringing on trade union rights.
Despite Falcón’s reassignment, sources indicate that the situation within the blood bank remains dire, with reports of ongoing critical shortages of group O- blood this week demonstrating the ongoing challenges facing the organisation.
