Kazakhstan needs to double blood donors

Donors commitment in Kazakhstan leaves much to be desired, deputy Director of the National Blood Center in Almaty Gulsara Bekmukhayeva told Tengrinews.kz during the campaign timed to the World Blood Donor Day. According to the WHO recommendations, there should be 50-60 blood donors per 1 thousand people country-wide. Almaty has only 30 donors per 1 thousand residents, while the number is even smaller in Kazakhstan in general: 18-20 donors per 1 thousand. Donated blood can be stored for up to 1 month, so the stock has be be renewed constantly. Plasma, the blood component used as a substitute for whole blood and for transfusion purposes, can be stored for a longer period of time: for up to 3 years. Kazakhstan has sufficient reserves of plasma: around 3 tons. In case of an emergency, over 3 thousand Kazakhstan residents can be provided with plasma simultaneously. According to Bekmukhayeva, the World Blood Donor Day is a global observed date called to draw attention of public and authorities to blood donorship. The center awarded Kazakhstan honorary donors with medals and diplomas. Aleksander Skakovskiy has been regularly visiting the blood center for the last 40 years. He has made 963 donations so far. The honorary donor set the record in Kazakhstan and, according to Bekmukhayeva, can is nearing the world record. “I am calling everyone to donate blood! Fear of catching a disease often pushes people away from donating blood. I can assure you that everything is disposable, sterile and safe now. Secondly, many people believe that donors become blood donation addict and start filling a physical need to donate blood after a certain amount donations. Nothing like that can happen! We, donors, make breaks after a certain number of donations. I have been donating blood for a long time and I have no physiological need to do it. There is only the moral need for me,” Skakovskiy said. By Vladimir Prokopenko