Introduction:

Blood donations are health care activity of a strategic importance. Their history has evolved together with the Cuban health system.

Objective:

To describe the behaviour of blood donations from a historical perspective according to the development stages of the Cuban health system.

Method: It was carried out a research by the logic-historical method on the historical background and the current data on blood donations. The information was collected through interviews and the bibliographic and documentary reviews.

Results:

During the pseudo-republic times, the first institutions for blood donations and transfusions were created, and their managements was supported with the collections of paid donors and relatives. In the Revolution period, it was achieved an organized blood donation program which was integrated to the health system and for the fist time unified and of national scope, with coordinated participation between the staff of the first level of care and the social organizations. This allowed the significant increase of the availability of blood and the development of the Cuban transfusion medicine, medical-surgical specialties and medical-pharmaceutical industry. In addition, it was strengthen the practice of blood donation as a voluntary act.

Conclusions:

Blood donation in Cuba is a trace activity that shows the development of the Cuban health system in its different stages and it is a reflection of the political will of the Government, the people and the institutions.