In December, we held the second PCB community swap meet, an initiative led by the IBEC in collaboration with the PCB. Throughout the morning, clothes, sporting goods, books, toys, accessories and laboratory equipment that been brought in were made available for the community to swap. At the end of the day, any leftover clothes were given to the DEBRA Association to be sold in its charity shops.

DEBRA is an association that supports people with epidermolysis bullosa (EB), a rare genetic disease also known as “butterfly skin”. This condition causes extremely fragile skin due to the absence of certain proteins between the skin’s layers, causing wounds and sores at the slightest contact. There are currently around 500 people in Spain affected by this disease.

With the aim of improving the quality of life of patients and their families, DEBRA organises solidarity actions to raise funds and awareness of this disease. One of its initiatives are the charity shops, which sell donated items. In Barcelona, they have a shop at Carrer Torrent de l’Olla, 100, which was where the leftover clothes were sent to.

For more information on the association and the disease, visit the website.