AUR MPs, Christian-Daniel Ivanetse and Mykhailo Albishtianu, submitted to the Senate a project amending Law 282/2005 on the organization of blood transfusion, blood donation and blood components of human origin, as well as ensuring health, quality and safety, with for the purpose of their therapeutic use, reports News.ro.

The legislative initiative proposes to donate blood in the blood transfusion departments of city and urban hospitals, and not only at reception points, so that those who want to have the opportunity to donate blood in a place located at a shorter distance from the area where they live.

“There is an acute blood crisis in Romania, and unfortunately, patients who need this medicine so much often lose their lives. We know very well that the number of blood donors is much lower than the needs of patients, and therefore they are put in a situation of postponing vital procedures. Donating blood is not an easy process, it is quite difficult for those who want to donate blood to travel to blood collection centers, long distances and the dynamics of the professional or personal life of potential donors are among the main obstacles. According to the current legislation, blood collection is not carried out in the transfusion departments of hospitals, the collection process is mostly carried out at collection points. In Romania, there are only 43 collection centers, which is an extremely small number compared to the importance that this means of legal protection represents for the population,” the initiators note in the motivation of the bill.

According to the quoted source, at the level of the entire country, various associations and non-profit organizations have organized numerous campaigns to facilitate and encourage blood donation.

“The conclusions drawn after the organization of these campaigns reveal the problem I have already mentioned: the great distance that interested persons have to travel to donate at the collection centers. This obstacle can be removed by amending the current legislation so that the donation process is also carried out in the transfusion departments of city and urban hospitals, so that interested persons have the opportunity to donate in a place located at a shorter distance from the area where they live or which they usually visit. – also noted by the AUR deputies in motivating the legislative initiative.

The bill was submitted to the Senate, the first forum mentioned, and the decision-making body is the Chamber of Deputies.