Balgarianovinite.com A common mechanism is needed to ensure adequate blood supplies and protect patients’ rights, the press service of the Health Ministry said on Friday, responding to claims that, amid limited blood supplies, hospitals have been asking relatives of patients scheduled for elective surgery to help find voluntary blood donors.
The issue was raised on August 20 by the Association of Patients Active in Healthcare. The association stressed that blood donation is a voluntary act and an expression of solidarity and should not become a condition for receiving treatment.
In its response on Friday, the Health Ministry stressed the need to clearly distinguish between a voluntary appeal for assistance and making the provision of blood donors a mandatory condition for treatment. “The patient should not be responsible for ensuring the healthcare system’s blood supply,” the Ministry said.
For elective procedures, hospitals should be able to assess in advance the quantities of blood likely to be needed and the associated medical risks. At the same time, any medical intervention, including elective surgery, may result in an unforeseen need for blood transfusion. This risk cannot be managed solely by appealing to patients’ families, the Health Ministry said.
It agrees with hospital organizations that an administrative directive, by itself, will not increase supplies at blood transfusion centers. For this reason, the Ministry will invite representatives of hospital associations, the National and Regional Centres for Transfusion Hematology, the Expert Council on Transfusion Hematology, the Scientific Society for Transfusion Hematology, and the Bulgarian Red Cross to a working meeting to discuss and develop a common strategy and a specific mechanism for action.
Before the meeting, up-to-date information will be requested on available supplies of blood and blood components, consumption levels and the needs reported by healthcare facilities, the possibilities for redistributing supplies between regions, the periods and blood groups facing the most serious shortages, as well as the capacity to organize mobile and emergency blood donation campaigns.
Based on this information, clear rules should be agreed on how to respond to shortages, ensure supplies for both emergency and elective care, and coordinate action between hospitals and transfusion hematology services.
“The aim of the Health Ministry is neither to conceal the problem through an administrative ban nor to leave healthcare facilities to find solutions on their own. What is needed is a workable balance in which hospitals have access to the blood supplies they need, voluntary blood donation is sustainably encouraged, and patients’ access to medical care does not depend on their families’ ability to find donors,” the press service added.
Blood and blood components may not be the subject of a commercial transaction, except in the cases provided for under the Blood, Blood Donation and Blood Transfusion Act.
Health Ministry: Common Mechanism Needed to Ensure Adequate Blood Supplies 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-08-28 16:28:58
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БЪЛГАРИЯ НОВИНИТЕ – ИНФОРМАЦИОННА АГЕНЦИЯ 2009-2026 2026-08-28 16:28:58