Skopje, 14 June 2024 (MIA) - Hospitals and healthcare institutions around the country have sufficient supplies of blood. MIA learns that the situation at the September 8 Hospital is stable, although the demand for blood and blood products has increased due to the large number of surgeries performed. June 14 marks World Blood Donor Day and Macedonian citizens donate blood and are charitable, while the Red Cross' blood donation campaigns in recent years have collected between 55,000 and 60,000 units of blood.

Public Health Center director Shaban Memeti told MIA on Friday that the world is united for the 20th anniversary of World Blood Donor Day.

He added that in addition to saving lives, donating blood can have additional health benefits for the donors themselves. "Regularly donating blood can improve people’s health and reduce the risk of certain diseases," Memetti informed.

Institute for Transfusion Medicine Director Sedula Useini commended all donors and wished they would continue to donate blood, because, as he said, blood donation is the privilege of the healthy.

“The Institute for Transfusion Medicine in Skopje has a sufficient blood supply from all blood groups - red cells, platelets, and plasma. In addition to the annual integrated plan for blood drives, which is fully realized at the Institute, they are regularly organized at the centers in Shtip, Tetovo, and Bitola, and Mondays and Thursdays in other cities," said Useini.

Blood reserves at the September 8 Hospital are currently stable for patients in need of blood or blood products. But, according to hospital Director Hristijan Kostov, due to the increase in surgeries lately, consumption of blood and blood products is also expected to rise.

"We have established good cooperation with the Institute for Transfusion Medicine, which supplies us with blood and blood products according to our needs. We regularly organize blood drives according to the plan for organizing charity blood drives at the transfusiology department," Kostov noted.

Gligor Novachevski from Red Cross North Macedonia told MIA that their plan is to collect about 55,000 blood units per year. In recent years, they have collected between 55,000 and 60,000 units of blood.

"We have surpassed our plans. We have reserves, but sometimes we need red blood cells, which are collected in a specific way seeing as how they can be kept a total of five days. We have to purposely search for them according to the blood type we need. We meet our needs and make procurements based on what is required of us, capacities of the healthcare system, the number of operations performed," Novachevski said.

The Government adopted the program for organizing and promoting blood drives on January 16, which will be realized in accordance with the funds secured from the 2024 Budget in the amount of Mden 27,992,000 (EUR 454.864). Blood donors with a certain number of donations are granted certain benefits. ssh/ik/

MIA file photo