Over 20 thousand units of blood were collected in Montenegro in 11 months of 2024. Of these, less than half are voluntary, while earmarked donations made up the majority. However, as the Blood Transfusion Institute told "Vijesti", compared to the year before, the number of voluntary donations is almost a thousand higher.
In the Institute, in addition to the trend that was present during the first 11 months, they also expect that, according to the number of blood units collected, last year will be a record. The total result for 2024 is not yet known, because, as they said, the collection of data from all Montenegrin transfusion centers is to come.
The Institute is extremely grateful to the citizens who, as they said, understood the importance of this humanitarian activity and thus supported the functioning of the health system.
"These results are extremely encouraging, because compared to the previous year, 1.639 more units were donated," they told "Vijesti".
They also boasted that compared to 2023, 13 more voluntary blood donation campaigns were organized, so last year there were 228.
"We can say that all 20.139 donated units of blood saved or improved the health of patients who needed it, because there are many conditions that require transfusion support," said the ZZTK.
They explained that there is almost no operation performed in any of the hospital centers in Montenegro, regardless of the degree of complexity, that does not require this type of support.
"There are numerous conditions that require blood transfusion, from childbirth, hematological and oncological diseases, through cardiovascular operations, to traffic and other emergency traumas, where the basic rule is that blood is always waiting for patients, and not the other way around," said the Institute. .
Good reserves are one of the most important pillars of the health system
On a daily basis, the Institute for Blood Transfusion processes 100 to 150 units of blood. From this, over 400 blood components are made, which are further distributed to clinical and hospital centers in Montenegro.
"That information alone speaks volumes about how important it is to donate a sufficient number of units of blood at the Institute every day in order for the health system to function smoothly," said the ZZTK.
According to them, they face various prejudices regarding donating blood.
"During our educational and motivational work with different target groups, mostly our residents emphasize several prejudices regarding blood donation. One of the most common is that it is a process in which the blood donor can be infected, that is, during the blood donation itself, he gets an infectious disease. Our staff tries to explain to all donors that sterile sets for single use are used for each donation, and that there is no risk of any infection during the procedure. It is 100 percent safe," said the Institute.
Another of the prejudices, as they said, is that after the first blood donation, a kind of "addiction" occurs, which forces donors to keep coming:
"In that case, we explain to the donors that in our database we have donors with different intervals between donating blood, we have donors who for some justified reasons can no longer donate blood, and in any case donating blood does not create addiction".
Another mistaken belief that citizens have is that donors should wait for their appeal to donate blood, because they think that only emergency situations are the ones in which this medicine is necessary for patients:
"Many health conditions require blood for treatment, even though it is not an emergency, so it is necessary that voluntary blood donation be a regular activity that will contribute to all our patients receiving this medicine at the moment they need it".
As they say, there is no synthetic substitute for blood.
"No major surgical procedure can be performed without the use of blood, but blood is very often the most important medicine for a large number of chronic patients. It is clear that good national blood reserves are one of the most important pillars of the health system. With this, we can conclude that blood donors are one of the most important links for the successful functioning of healthcare in any country. In addition to the daily help they provide to the health system and all patients who need this medicine, blood donors spread the mission of humanity and empathy and thus improve our society", said the Institute.
The biggest challenge they face in securing sufficient blood supplies, as the Institute said, is usually during the summer months and during the holidays, when citizens go on short or long vacations due to their days off.
"Summer represents an additional challenge due to the influx of a large number of foreign tourists for whom, in the event of injury or illness, we are obliged to provide adequate health care," said the ZZTK.
For every transfusion service, providing safe blood in a timely manner is a challenge, the Institute assessed, but with dedicated work on the development of donation, that challenge is being reduced to the smallest possible extent.
"The work on the motivation of the population is of a continuous nature, and we try to, through work with different target groups, point out the importance of voluntary blood donation for the condition of patients and the health system as a whole", they said.
Using mathematics, it is impossible to calculate the number of lives saved
They assessed that each unit of blood can save or improve someone's life, because it is a medicine of human origin.
"From one unit of whole blood, four blood components can be made, whereby they are individually distributed to different patients, depending on which component they need at a given moment. However, it is almost impossible to use a mathematical formula to calculate the number of lives saved, that is, conditions treated, for the reason that the largest number of them require a large number of transfusions given at different time intervals. For example, a life-threatening patient due to massive bleeding can receive several tens of blood components in just a few hours, while e.g. some chronic patients periodically receive one or two transfusions for years and thus keep their disease under control", said the Institute.
They point out that in the past year, a large number of personal records of voluntary blood donors were recorded when it comes to the number of donations:
"The Institute for Blood Transfusion of Montenegro keeps records for each individual donor and we try to, in addition to a large number of humane people, present the most outstanding individuals with appropriate certificates of appreciation at our central ceremony on the occasion of the World Day of Voluntary Blood Donors".
As they said, they owe special thanks to the organizers of voluntary blood donation campaigns, but also to all those donors who regularly visit them on their own initiative.
During the past period, as they said, the best results were achieved in 2022, when 20.723 units of blood were collected and a donation percentage of 3,4 percent was registered.
They are trying, as they said, to show their gratitude in their daily activities to everyone who, with their donations, helps keep the supply of this medicine stable.
"We believe that recognitions, awards and various benefits are really small signs of attention for their humanitarian deeds. We remind you that the Institute for Blood Transfusion of Montenegro initiated with the Social Council an increase in the number of days off that blood donors are entitled to after donating blood. The Health Insurance Fund of Montenegro recognized the role of blood donors, so all those with more than 10 donations are exempted from payment of participation in the health system. Also, in cooperation with the National Parks of Montenegro, free tickets are provided for voluntary blood donors, and we are trying to provide small gifts and signs of attention, such as tickets and gift vouchers, through partnerships with the private sector", said the Institute, adding that they are trying to update that list regularly.
"We are of the opinion that blood donors in Montenegro must have a significantly better status in society, for which we will advocate even more intensively in the future", they said.
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