The expert named the reasons for the unpopularity of donation in the Russian Federation

To meet the Russian Federation's need for blood donations, there should be 40 donations per year for every thousand people. But the current figure is still below the required minimum — 14 donations. Although 10-15% of Russians can be donors, so far only 2% of the population donate blood, Olga Ugrak, an analytical psychologist and expert of the educational project on blood and plasma donation "+Ya", told Izvestia on March 29.

"Donation is not as widespread in the country as we would like, because, firstly, it is impersonal assistance. The practice of hundreds of charitable organizations shows that people are more willing to help others when they see their faces, read stories, in a word, "get to know" the side that accepts support," she explained.

The expert stressed that in order to popularize donation, it is necessary to actively tell who is helped by donated blood and plasma.

"Many people believe that transfusions are only needed for people who have been injured. But in fact, blood components save very different patients. For example, they help to keep a pregnancy at risk of miscarriage," she added.

In her opinion, the personal experience of the donor also helps to avoid the perception of donation as an unpleasant or complicated procedure. According to her, when describing it, you need to focus on the preparation for the procedure, how it went, and your feelings.

It is also important to show advantages where other people still see barriers.

"For example, various studies can be perceived as a difficulty on the way to donation. But by going through them, the donor not only becomes convinced of his "suitability" for the procedure, but also receives detailed information about the state of his body. Do not set the goal of your conversation to convince another person to become a donor — inform, not force," concluded Ugrac.

Earlier, on November 26, 2024, Pavel Trakhtman, MD, head of the Department of Transfusiology at the Dmitry Rogachev Children's Medical Center and one of the experts of the +Ya educational project, told Izvestia that thanks to the achievements of modern science and technology, one donor can simultaneously help several patients. Therefore, according to them, donating blood for a specific person is an irrational waste of a valuable resource that can save the lives of a large number of people at once.