TEHRAN – Iran's blood transfusion measures are admirable and influential in the region, Mikoko Senga, the deputy representative of the World Health Organization in Iran, has said.

“I was impressed by the infrastructure and facilities of the Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization (IBTO),” she further stated.

Referring to her work experience in different countries in the region, she considered Iran to be an influential country in the field of health and hygiene, and in particular, praised the actions of the IBTO.

In August 2021, the Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization was selected for the third time as a partner center of the WHO.

Iran's advanced blood transfusion provides a suitable and needed environment for further cooperation, she noted.

A 13 percent increase in blood donation in the first three months of the current [Iranian calendar] year (started March 21, 2022), compared to the same period last year has brought the donation rate to 27 per thousand people, Mostafa Jamali, CEO of IBTO said.

He also considered planning to expand blood donation in rural areas as one of the long-term goals of his administration and requested Senga to support the blood transfusion organization in order to achieve the goal of creating facilities in deprived areas.

Senga also emphasized that the representative office of the World Health Organization in Iran is ready to support the Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization in providing the necessary equipment.

In August 2021, the Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization and the High Institute for Research and Education in Transfusion Medicine were selected for the third time as partner centers of the WHO.

Highest blood donation in Eastern Mediterranean

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.

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.

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).

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 27 per 1,000 populations, while in the member states of the Eastern Mediterranean region, this number is 14.9 per 1000.

FB/MG