Donor Day: What Is The Price Of Blood In Russia?

2023 Author: Abraham Higgins | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-27 23:16

Donor day: what is the price of blood in Russia?

Today, April 20, Russia celebrates National Donor Day. It was on this day in 1832 that St. Petersburg obstetrician Andrei Wolf, for the first time in Russian medical practice, transfused her husband's blood to a woman in labor and thereby saved her life. Since then, donation has been strongly encouraged by the state. What can donors in our country expect today?

Photo: CC0 Public Domain

Weekends, vouchers and other "goodies"

Today, the development of donation of blood and its components is recognized as one of the strategic priorities of Russian health care, and donors are entitled to a whole package of preferences.

So, according to the law, on the day of blood donation, the donor is provided with free meals and two days off. Having donated two maximum allowable blood doses during the year, the donor has the right to receive a preferential voucher to a sanatorium at the place of work or study. After passing 60 donations, the volunteer receives a badge "Honorary Donor of Russia", and with it - an annual paid leave at a convenient time for him, the right to an extraordinary medical care and an annual indexed payment, which in 2020 amounted to 14,570 rubles 36 kopecks.

In some regions, additional benefits are provided, and Moscow honorary donors are most fortunate - they are entitled to free travel on public transport, the manufacture and repair of dentures, as well as a 50% discount on utility bills and pharmaceuticals.

Lack of donor blood - new pandemic threat

In mid-March, doctors sounded the alarm: because of quarantine measures, blood transfusion stations were empty. There is a threat of blood deficiency, which will inevitably affect the work of all hospital departments. Today, in the context of a pandemic, hematological and oncological patients, including children, continue their treatment, as well as patients with injuries, childbirth, which also require transfusion. In this regard, employees of the Pirogov Russian Research Institute of Medical University launched an action on social networks under the hashtag #yamydonora, urging Russians not to refuse donations.

For those who decided to continue donation in self-isolation, doctors recommend focusing on the Donor traffic light. It will show you where the nearest center is where your blood type is required.

The basic requirements for potential donors are the same: a person must reach the age of 18 years and weigh at least 50 kg, and also have no contraindications for transfusion. However, in connection with the spread of coronavirus in Russia, doctors are asking to temporarily refuse donation to everyone who has recently had a coronavirus or is in contact with an infected person, has ARVI symptoms, or has recently returned from abroad. The terms of the restrictions are different: for example, in the Blood Service of the Federal Medical and Biological Agency (FMBA), a person who has recovered from COVID-19 will be accepted only six months after complete recovery. At the Medical Center for Pediatric Hematology, Oncology and Immunology named after V. I. Dmitry Rogachev believe that it is enough to wait a month. Those who live under the same roof with COVID-19 patients,Specialists of the FMBA Blood Donation Service ask to refrain from donation for three months after recovery. You will have to wait at least a month after returning from abroad.

You can get comprehensive information on the Internet portal of the Blood Service - www.yadonor.ru. The blood donation hotline - 8-800-333-33-30 - operates around the clock and calls within Russia are free.

"Plasma motor" - another chance to recover from coronavirus

An important nuance: those who have recovered from COVID-19 cannot now donate blood, but they have the opportunity to fulfill an equally noble mission: to donate blood plasma for transfusion to new patients. The purpose of this procedure is to transfer antibodies from the blood of a recovered person to a patient in the acute phase of the disease. Last week, the Moscow authorities issued an appeal in which they asked all those who had been ill to become plasma donors, promising a monetary reward at the rate of 1250 rubles for every 150 ml of plasma or 5000 rubles for 600 ml.

A blood plasma donor can be a person who recovered from COVID-19 from 18 to 55 years old, who has a negative test for HIV, hepatitis B and C. According to the latest data, 60 people have already donated their plasma.

The plasma donation hotline is open daily from 9:00 to 19:00 by phone 8 (495) 870-45-16.

There is no need to worry about the safety of donation: there is no evidence that coronavirus is transmitted during donation. In addition, blood transfusion centers have strengthened all security measures: they are disinfecting the premises more intensively, they offer hand sanitizers at the entrance, measure the temperature of potential donors and their employees.