In our country, over the past five years, an increase in voluntary blood donation has been recorded with a parallel decrease in dependence on replacement blood, i.e. blood from relatives and friends of patients. Last year, 65.34% of blood units were collected from volunteers. blood donors, while it is worth noting that more units of volunteer blood were collected last year than were collected in 2018, when the tragedy in Mati Attika caused a surge in volunteering in this area. It is worth noting that 42 blood donations in the country have rates above 65.34% and it is significant that in the hospitals of Amfissa and Elpis more than 90% of the blood units collected by blood donations were received from volunteers.

According to data obtained from the country’s hospital blood donation services and processed by the National Blood Donation Centre, Greece needed 554,494 units of blood in 2022 for the care and treatment of patients. It is worth noting that in the last three years before the pandemic, the country’s need for blood was higher (from 570,895 in 2017, 566,327 in 2018 and 559,196 in 2019). Needs have been less than usual during the pandemic as the NHS has focused on handling COVID-19 patients and many regular surgeries have been postponed.

Of the 554,494 blood units in 2022, 534,494 came from the community (20,000 blood units were supplied by the Swiss Red Cross), and of these, 348,783 (or 65.34%) were from voluntary blood donors. This number is the highest from 2017 to 2022, even though the need for blood dropped last year. In fact, he is even older than the volunteer blood donors) when the tragedy in Mati Attika forced many to donate blood.

Accordingly, dependence on replacement blood (the blood of relatives or friends of patients) is significantly reduced: from 198,229 units collected in 2017 from relatives and friends of patients to 183,915 units last year.

The hospitals of G. Gennimata in Athens, Hippocrates in Thessaloniki, ACHEPA, Nice and Hippocrates in Athens showed the best “performance” in terms of blood collection: 24,159, 21,662, 21,049, 16,254 and 15,446 units respectively. Based on the percentage of voluntary blood they collect, last year the top five hospitals — with a national average of 65.34% — were Amfissa (96.74%), Elpis (91.76%), Amalia Fleming (86 ,37%), Children’s Agia. Sofia (85.4%) and 251 VNS (84.61).