TEHRAN – Iranian people donated 21 percent more blood on Tasua and Ashura (the ninth and tenth days of the mourning month of Muharram, August 7-8 this year) compared to the same days last year, Abbas Sedaqat, a spokesman for the Blood Donation Organization, said on Wednesday.

Some 32,000 units of blood were donated on Tasua and Ashura this year, compared with 26,500 units of blood last year, ISNA quoted Sedaqat as saying.

The highest blood donation growth rates belonged to North Khorasan, Kohgiluyeh-Boyer Ahmad, Ardebil, South Khorasan, and Khorasan Razavi provinces, respectively.

There are 178 blood donation centers in the country and more than 2.1 million Iranians donate blood annually.

In Iran, the safety and health of blood are guaranteed according to the latest global standards and are second to none in the Eastern Mediterranean region, Sedaqat said in June.

The country is honored to be introduced as a colleague of the World Health Organization, aiming to promote and transfer the knowledge for donating and transfusing blood observing all the global standards.

There are currently 178 blood donation centers in the country and more than 2.1 million Iranians donate blood annually. Iran currently has the highest blood donation rate in the Eastern Mediterranean region.

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), according to WHO.

MG