TEHRAN – Iran's share of the total donated blood in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMRO) is about 29 percent, according to the World Health Organization.

Blood donation in Iran is completely voluntary.

According to the announcement of the Blood Transfusion Organization, Iran will be in the category of high-income countries by collecting more than 2 million units of blood and a 24.2 percent blood donation rate per thousand people in 2021.

Of the 118,500,000 units of blood donated worldwide, 40 percent take place in high-income countries, which contain only 16 percent of the world’s population.

There is a significant difference in blood availability between low and high-income countries. Unfortunately, in 60 countries, the blood donation rate per thousand people is less than 10, which means that Iran is in a very good situation.

In the first five months of the current Iranian calendar year which began on March 21, 1.184 million people visited donation centers and clinics across the country, of which 957,000 succeeded in donating blood, and during this period, the number of blood donations compared to the same period last year grown almost by 13 percent, Abbas Sedaqat, Blood Transfusion Organization spokesman, said.

The provinces of North Khorasan, Kordestan, and Hamedan, with nearly 36 percent, 33 percent, and 29 percent, respectively, have the highest growth in the blood donation index compared to other provinces of the country in the first five months of this year compared to the same period last year, he stated.

In Tehran province, more than 21 percent growth occurred in the blood donation index in the first five months of this year compared to the same period last year, he added.

The Blood Transfusion Organization has produced about 1,700,000 units of healthy blood products with the highest quality standards to meet the medical centers’ needs.

"Continuous and repeated blood donation index", considered one of the most important indicators on the international scale and one of the influential components in the "blood health index", was estimated at 85 percent in the aforesaid period.

Referring to the 4 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.

During this period, about 151,000 blood donors were "first-time donors", which includes about 16 percent of all blood donation cases.

Last year, about two million units of blood were donated, he concluded.

Iran on par with Europe and U.S.

According to the reports provided by the World Health Organization, Iran competes with Europe and the U.S. in blood donation indices, even outpacing them in one or two cases.

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 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.

Over 2.1 million Iranians donate blood annually, Bashir Haji-Beigi, the former Blood Transfusion Organization spokesman, said in June.

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.

FB/MG