Red Cross: The share of voluntary blood donors in Montenegro in 2023 increased by 43 percent

Today, twenty years in a row, June 14 - the World Day of Voluntary Blood Donors is celebrated, and the Red Cross of Montenegro thanked voluntary blood donors for their "active contribution to the improvement of blood donation, globally".

"The 20th anniversary of World Voluntary Blood Donor Day is an opportunity to thank blood donors around the world for their life-saving donations over the years and to honor their profound impact on patients and future donors. It is also the right time to face the ongoing challenges and accelerate progress toward a future where safe blood transfusion is universally available," the statement said.

The goals of the global campaign of the World Health Organization called "20 years of giving: thank you to voluntary blood donors" are to thank and recognize the millions of voluntary blood donors who have "contributed to the health and well-being of millions of people worldwide, presenting the achievements and challenges of national voluntary blood donation programs and sharing best practices and lessons learned". "This day serves to emphasize the continuous need for regular, unpaid, voluntary blood donation, but also to promote the culture of regular blood donation, especially among young people," it added.

"The messages of the campaign are: safe blood saves lives; blood is needed by women with complications during pregnancy and childbirth, children with severe anemia, often caused by malaria or malnutrition, victims of accidents and surgical and oncological patients; regular blood donation by a sufficient number of healthy people is necessary to ensure that blood will always be available whenever and wherever it is needed; although the need for blood is not universal Blood shortage is particularly pronounced in low- and middle-income countries Every single donation of blood or plasma is precious a life-saving gift, etc.," states the Red Cross.

They say that last year in Montenegro, 20.344 units of blood were collected, and the donation percentage was 3,3 percent. The recommendation of the World Health Organization is that this percentage should be four percent. "The level of voluntary blood donation in our country increases every year, so last year there was an increase in the share of voluntary blood donors, which amounted to 43%. Our goal is that the level of voluntary, non-targeted blood donation is 100%, and that the number of dedicated, family donors are reduced to a minimum," the Red Cross points out.

"The Red Cross in Montenegro, through the promotion of blood donation, the motivation of citizens to get involved and personally contribute to the development of this activity in Montenegro, the organization and support of blood donation campaigns, with the support of the Blood Transfusion Institute, continuously contributes to timely and for all patients, provide blood on time. During the past year, Red Cross organizations in Montenegro supported the organization of 75 voluntary blood donation campaigns, organized 46 motivational lectures on this topic, and through various campaigns, collected 4,400 units of blood. donate blood," the statement concluded.