TEHRAN – The blood transfusion organization announced a 13 percent increase in blood donation in the first three months of the current [Iranian calendar] year (started March 21, 2021).

In the spring, about 710,000 people referred to blood donation centers all over the country, of which about 570,000 donated blood, ISNA quoted Abbas Sedaghat saying on Monday.

Based on the blood donation index, the highest blood donation growth was recorded in North Khorasan provinces with 35 percent, Hamedan province with 33 percent, and Kordestan province with 32 percent growth respectively.

Referring to the 4.5 percent women’s share of blood donation, he noted that the index of women's participation in blood donation is significantly lower than the average of developed countries.

Fortunately, our country is one of the few countries in the world and also the only country in the North African and Eastern Mediterranean region that has a national blood supply network that is fully established and active, he highlighted.

This means that the blood needed by all the medical centers and all the patients who need to receive blood or blood products can be supplied from all over the country. Therefore, through this network, 940 hospitals across the country have blood banks.

Today, we can supply the needed blood by 100 percent across the whole country with the highest quality in terms of blood health and blood products and based on the highest international standards, he emphasized.

Blood donation in Iran has long been done voluntarily as over 2.1 million Iranians donate blood annually, Bashir Haji-Beigi, the Blood Transfusion Organization spokesman, said on June 14.

There are currently 178 blood donation centers in the country, with Fars, Khorasan Razavi, Khuzestan, Tehran, and Mazandaran provinces having the largest number of blood donation centers, he stated.

Highest blood donation in Eastern Mediterranean

While blood donation in 70 countries still depends on replacement or paid donors, Iran is the first country in the region that has enjoyed voluntary blood donation by 100 percent since 2007.

Blood donation in Iran has long been done voluntarily as over 2.1 million Iranians donate blood annually.

More than 85 percent of all donated blood worldwide is used to produce blood products, while the rate is 65 percent in Eastern Mediterranean countries. Iran ranks among the highest-income countries in terms of converting more than 97 percent of the blood donated by people to plasma-derived medicinal products (PDMP).

Only 55 of 171 countries produce PDMP through the fractionation of plasma collected in the reporting country. A total of 90 countries reported that all PDMP are imported, 16 countries reported that no PDMP was used during the reporting period, and 10 countries did not respond to the question, according to WHO.

Iran currently has the highest blood donation rate in the Eastern Mediterranean region so out of 9.9 million blood donation units in this region, more than two million belongs to Iran.

Also, the index of blood donation is 25 per 1,000 populations, while in the member states of the Eastern Mediterranean region, this number is 14.9 per 1000.

117.4 million blood donations worldwide

According to the World Health Organization, blood transfusion saves millions of lives and improves health, but many patients requiring transfusion do not have timely access to safe blood.

About 117.4 million blood donations are collected worldwide. 42 percent of these are collected in high-income countries, home to 16 percent of the world’s population.

About 12,700 blood centers in 170 countries report collecting a total of 100 million donations. Collections at blood centers vary according to income group. The median annual donations per blood center are 1,300 in low-income countries, 4,100 in lower-middle-income countries, and 8 500 in upper-middle-income countries, as compared to 23,000 in high-income countries.

Data about the gender profile of blood donors show that globally 32 percent of blood donations are given by women, although this ranges widely. In 14 of the 119 reporting countries, less than 10 percent of donations are given by female donors.

Moreover, 62 countries collect 100 percent of their blood supply from voluntary, unpaid blood donors. Some 108 million blood donations are collected globally, and half of these are in high-income countries.

Meanwhile, blood donation by 1 percent of the population can meet a nation’s most basic requirements for blood.

FB/MG