Volunteer blood donation: Increased in 2023 – “Champion” the Ionian Islands

Many pleasant surprises are hidden in the annual report of the National Centre for the Year 2023. The year has grown. Greater was voluntary blood donation in 2023, according to the information released by the National Blood Donation Center’s officials. However, our country is still short of ensuring full blood adequacy, to meet domestic needs, both those of chronic patients and emergencies. “Champion” in blood concentration are the Ionian Islands. The high performance of the inhabitants of these islands, however, is mainly due to Corfu, an island which, according to the officials of the EKEA, is a “blood-like example to be imitated”. Specifically, within the last year in Corfu, 121.76 units of blood were collected per 1000 inhabitants, 50.87 units of voluntary blood per 1000 inhabitants, far above the country’s average and the percentage of voluntary blood was 71.67 % for 2023. See the relevant table: More specifically, for the year 2023 our country gathered for the care and treatment of patients 570974 blood units of which 550974 units were collected from society and 20,000 units received from the Swiss Red Cross, exclusively for persons with Mediterranean anaemia. The Blood Collection in our country, in the last 8 years, is presented in the following diagram: In 2023 13,630 blood units were collected more than 2022. Of the 550974 blood units collected in 2023, 378,904 units were collected by Volunteer Blood donors, namely 68.7% of the total blood collection. In 2023, 30,162 units were gathered more than 2022, where the rate of voluntary blood was 65%, an improvement of 3.7%. The evolution of the course of voluntary blood in time is attributed to the following diagram: The 20 best-performing hospitals of Chora contribute and try to ensure blood adequacy No doubt in this effort some for various reasons have better performance. So the twenty best hospitals based on the number of blood units they collect are the following: Based on the percentage of voluntary blood collected, the twenty best performing hospitals are: It is noted that 41 Hospitals in Greece have a Volunteer Blood rate above the country’s average (68.77%). As the absolute number of Volunteer Blood units collected by the Hospitals and the ECA, the evaluation is as follows: Administrative regions with best performance The total blood concentration in our country corresponds to 52.56 units of blood per 1000 inhabitants from 50.7 units per 1,000 inhabitants, which was in 2024. In Greece 36.15 volunteer blood units were collected per 1000 inhabitants, compared to 32.98 units per 1000 inhabitants in 2022. In particular the picture of voluntary blood collection by region and territory is given in the table below: In this study the South Aegean Region cannot be evaluated, given that Athens Hospitals collect large amounts of blood from the islands of Cyclades and the Dodecanese, which alter the image of this Region. Replacement blood compared to volunteer blood They were collected as replacement blood 172449 units, i.e. 15624 units, fewer than 2022, i.e. 15624 relatives or friends of patients did not need to give blood for them and were covered by volunteers.The replacement blood was formed at 31.3% from 35% in 2022. At the same time, the dependence on replacement blood, i.e. blood derived from the family and friendly environment of patients, seems to be greatly reduced. The contribution of the Armed Forces to ensuring adequate blood supply in our country is important and irreplaceable. Thus, the contribution of E.D. to the time , which is noted, is part of the total offer of E.D. The needs of the country for the care of our fellow people with Mediterranean anemia and other haemoglobin disease amounted to 100,000 blood units in 2022, corresponding to 2100 patients. Due to the fact that in our country the consciousness of the stable donor has not been reduced consistently and lastingly, we are forced to import blood from the Swiss Red Cross, but the imported amounts are reduced in time. For 2024 There is no doubt that there is room for improvement. That is why we need to try harder, say the CEC officials and supplement: “The image for 2023 is auspicious with better performance so far than 2022”. source: Iatropedia.gr – Reportage: Janna Soulaki