TEHRAN – A total of 1,806,025 Iranians donated blood over the first nine months of the current Iranian calendar year which started on March 20, 2025, an official with the Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization (IBTO) spokesman has said.

“The highest blood donation growth (more than 14 percent) was recorded in the province Zanjan. Meanwhile, the highest growth in continuous donation of blood was registered in the province of Kohgiluyeh-Boyerahmad,” IRNA quoted Babak Yektaparast as saying.

The official went on to say that women’s share of blood donation in the country is less than five percent. 

Blood donation rise 4.7% yr/ yr

A total of 2,327,997 Iranians donated blood over the Iranian calendar year, which ended in March 2024, an increase of 4.7 percent compared to the year earlier. 

Tehran and Fars provinces made the largest contributions accounting for more than 16 percent and more than 7 percent of the total blood donation, respectively, IRNA quoted Bashir Haji-Beigi, the head of the Organization, as saying.

The highest growth in blood donation was recorded in the province of Lorestan with 22 percent, followed by North Khorasan with 16 percent, and Kohgiluyeh-Boyerahmad with approximately 13 percent.

The overall blood donation rate was over 54 percent in the country last year with Semnan (69 percent), Yazd (64 percent), and Qom (63 percent) provinces ranking the highest.

Women’s share of blood donation was equal to four percent. 

 WHO highlights Iran’s capacity 

Jaffar Hussain, the former World Health Organization Representative to Iran, has highlighted Iran’s capacity to serve as a model for other nations in the realm of blood transfusion and rare blood management.

In January last year, the official praised the country’s steadfast commitment to equitable health care access, ensuring that no one is left behind, regardless of their blood type.

The official commended the country’s unwavering dedication to tackling the unique challenges surrounding rare blood, emphasizing the critical importance of collaboration, innovation and unwavering determination in this global endeavour, the WHO website reported.

In July 1979, the IBTO was established to organize blood transfusion activities, promote blood donation, and supply safe blood and its products free of charge for patients suffering from diseases like hemophilia, thalassemia, and leukemia.

Iran is the only Islamic country that is a member of the International Society of Blood Transfusion's rare blood donor working party (ISBT WP).

Thanks to a rich culture of selflessness, the country maintains a six-month blood reserve ensuring preparedness for crises.

Blood reserves and their products are considered strategic and vital resources for the country, and voluntary donations help to meet the needs of the country, particularly during crisis.

According to experts, adults weigh 50 or more who aged 17 to 65 can donate blood.

Blood donation saves the lives of recipients and ensures the health of donors by facilitating the timely detection of latent diseases.

Healthy individuals can donate blood up to four times a year with an interval of eight weeks.

The main objective of the IBTO is to provide safe, quality blood and its products in accordance with national standards for those in need, as well as to promote blood transfusion medicine.

The whole blood can be separated into different blood components to be used for different purposes. Blood components are namely red blood cells (used for anemia or bleeding; platelets (used for bleeding disorders); and plasma (to provide blood proteins).

Heart surgery and organ transplant patients, those suffering from cancer, thalassemia, hemophilia, and acute burn are among those in need of blood.

The IBTO is known as a regional training authority of the World Health Organization in blood transfusion medicine.

Moreover, IBTO checks all donors and recipients to ensure their safety and health. Donated blood is tested for HIV, hepatitis B and C, syphilis, and blood cell types.