700 liters of blood donated in Kazakhstan daily

Around 700 liters of blood are donated in Kazakhstan blood centers daily, Tengrinews.kz reports from Kazakhstan transfusiology scientific center. According to the experts, there are 228 thousand voluntary and 48 thousand paid donors in Kazakhstan. Compared to 2010, their number increased by 4.5 thousand people. Employees of schools and universities, medical organizations, different companies and representatives of military units are most frequently involved in blood donorship. There are no celebrities or actors among constant donors in Kazakhstan. Compensation for voluntary blood donation is very low: only 404 tenge ($2.73). This amount is paid to the donors to help them restore energy, i.e. for them to buy something to eat. Paid donors get a compensation ranging between 1,618 to 6,472 tenge ($11 – $44) depending on the blood components donated. Blood group O is the most frequent and AB group is the rarest in Kazakhstan. 67 percent of donors in Kazakhstan are donating blood for their families or friends. According to the president of Kazakhstan Donors Association Gulsagira Sarsembinova, 10-15 percent of people wishing to become blood donors are found ineligible for donorship for different reasons. By Vladimir Prokopenko