TEHRAN – In the first 11 months of the current Iranian calendar year, which ended on February 19, some two million Iranians donated blood across the country.

A total of 2.5 million people referred to the blood donation centers nationwide over the 11-month period, IRNA quoted the Blood Transfusion Organization spokesman, Abbas Sedaqat, saying on Saturday.

In the aforementioned period, blood donation has increased by 9.5 percent compared to the same period last year, he added.

He went on to say that the highest blood donation growth was recorded in North Khorasan province at 34.7 percent, Ilam province at 21.7 percent, and Lorestan province at 20.8 percent growth, respectively.

Also, people in Tehran donated 10.52 percent more blood in the first eleven months of this year compared to the same period last year, he added.

Donors who successfully donate blood twice or more within 12 months are considered continuous donors.

The average level of blood reserves in the country is 9.6 days, which is an acceptable level, Sedaqat said in January.

“It should be noted that the need for blood and blood products is constant and blood donation should be done continuously.”

With the establishment of the national blood network, we have been able to meet all the needs of medical centers, including more than 900 hospitals that have blood banks, he explained.

“Also, we have raised the standards, before this definition, the average level of blood storage included four to five days, but the level doubled as much as 8 to 9 days, in order to manage blood supply better,” he noted.

Iran is among the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean region as a reference in the field of blood donation activities.

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).

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 PDMPs 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.

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.

MG