A number of 200 people on average come daily to the Blood Transfusion Center to voluntarily donate blood. Even if the figure was lower in summer, in autumn the number of donations returned to the usual one. Not always yet, the donated blood corresponds to the most wanted groups of blood in a particular period. The health system of the Republic of Moldova monthly needs about 6,000 blood donations. Currently, the voluntary donations represent over 85%, while 15% of the necessities are satisfied by related donors, director of the National Blood Transfusion Center Svetlana Cebotari has told IPN.
“Our institution is responsible for the direction of the flow of donors. Each of us has a particular blood group and if a particular store of blood is used up, we intervene and invite persons to donate. Not always, the donated blood corresponds to the groups requested in a particular period,” stated Svetlana Cebotari.
She also said that traditionally, the blood groups with negative Rh, which is possessed by about 15% of the population, are most often deficient. That’s why when blood with negative Rh is needed, a register of patients and blood donors is used. These blood donors are private individuals who accepted to be invited to donate blood whenever it is necessary. “We assumed this responsibility to invite to blood donation and to seek help from them so as to maintain those blood reserves and the possibility of ensuring continuity in the hemo-transfusion assistance requested by health facilities,” added Svetlana Cebotari.
In this period of the year, the representatives of student organization, of the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of the Interior are the most active ones. Blood donation units exist in districts as well. They have a mobile schedule. But the frequency of donations there is lower, mainly in such districts as Anenii Noi, Drochia, and Hancesti.
According to the Center’s director, blood can be donated by any person who wants if they are aged between 18 and 60, have a perfect state of health and weight of over 50 kg. By one donation the donor can save three lives.
All the blood donors can take two days off from work and get a food parcel whose content and price were modified as of November 1 this year. Thus, the donors will receive by a liter of sugar-free apple and grape juice, 300 grams of steamed meat and 160 grams of natural fish in own juice, 100 grams of chocolate, 400 grams of halva or 250 grams of dried fruit and a tin of vegetables rich in vitamins.
Svetlana Cebotari noted that the modification of the food parcel for donors wasn’t and is not a motivating factor for donors. The move was made to emphasis the value of human blood and the importance of this category of persons who donate blood regularly.
