"Up to 80% of donors come back at least twice a year"
About 1.5 million Russians need blood transfusions every year, Olga Makedonskaya, director of the FMBA Blood Center, said in an interview with Izvestia on the eve of Donors' Day (June 14). The majority of consumers of donated blood and its components are adults, while children account for only 15%. It is safe for a healthy person to donate 450 ml of whole blood at a time. Men can do this five times a year, while women can do it four times, the expert noted. The information about the blood reserves in the country, whether the need has been met, and how many record donors donate is in our material.
"In March 2024, after the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall, many donors came to us"
— In Russia, according to data for 2024, about 3 million donations were made. Has this covered the country's needs?
— In 2024, about 2.6 million liters of blood were harvested in Russia. This figure is 6% higher than in 2023. Then this amount fully covered the country's need for blood and its components.
In March 2024, after the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall, many donors came to us. The blood was donated in a larger volume than it was needed, and now it is stored in frozen form. At the same time, since the beginning of 2025, just over 900 thousand people across the country have already become donors.
A device for separating blood components
Currently, more than 20 thousand liters of blood are in permanent storage in the country's blood service institutions and are ready to be dispensed at any time, including 7.5 thousand liters in long-term storage. These are mainly components of rare groups and phenotypes, as well as more than 450 thousand liters of plasma, which makes it possible to provide guaranteed and uninterrupted care to all patients in medical institutions for four to six months.
— How many donors are there in the country today?
— As of 2024, the total number of blood donors in Russia has reached almost 1.5 million people. This number provides for current needs.
For the sustainable development of the blood service and replenishment, young, active and healthy people are involved in donation. But often, fears and myths about blood and bone marrow donation, as well as employment in the service and in everyday life, become deterrents for many. That is why the important tasks of the blood service are to constantly inform the population, promote donation and a healthy lifestyle, provide opportunities to donate blood on weekends, and organize donation campaigns in labor collectives at work and in public urban spaces.
— And how many of them are honorary donors?
— At the beginning of 2025, the number of people awarded the badge "Honorary Donor of Russia" is 603 thousand. To receive this title, it is necessary to donate blood and its components a certain number of times, for example, 40 times whole blood or 60 times blood plasma. 80% of donors come back at least twice a year for blood donation.
— How much blood and plasma is needed for children and adults?
— About 1.5 million Russians need blood transfusions every year. Children make up only about 15%, while adults make up more than 70%. Mostly for small patients, this procedure is performed in the treatment of oncological diseases.
"The distribution of blood groups does not change from year to year"
— How much blood is safe to donate?
— It is absolutely safe for a healthy person to donate 450 ml of whole blood at a time. Men can do this five times a year, and women can do it four times with intervals between donations.
When donating components — plasma, platelets — the number of donations per year should not exceed 21. But the blood service also has record holders for donations. For example, in the Ulyanovsk region, a donor made 813 donations of blood and components over 29 years. There are also cases in the regions where donors have made more than 400-500 donations over many years of donor experience.
— What is the most common blood type among Russians?
— The distribution of blood groups does not change from year to year. The most common blood type remains the second positive one. It occurs in 34% of the population. The proportion of patients with positive Rh factor also remains stable, since Rh factor is a genetically determined trait and does not change over time.
Most of the donors of the Blood Center have the first and second positive blood groups.
— Where does the FMBA Blood Center redirect blood most often?
— All federal centers of the FMBA of Russia, including the Blood Center, provide centralized supply of donated blood to patients receiving medical care in federal institutions. It is being sent to regions with increased demand, primarily new and border territories.
At the same time, institutions that procure donated blood and its components operate in all regions of the country. In addition, every year the target quota for low-cost places in the internship in the field of transfusiology is fulfilled by 100%. All applications from the regions are fully satisfied.
Blood Plasma Bags
— Universal artificial blood is currently undergoing clinical trials in Japan: it can be transfused to absolutely everyone, regardless of blood type and Rh factor. Are similar developments underway in Russia?
— The development of cellular biotechnologies brings scientists closer to creating components that are functionally identical to human blood. We are also conducting such developments. In particular, in the leading institutions of the FMBA of Russia — the Russian Research Institute of Hematology and Transfusiology and the Kirov Research Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion.
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