Blood Reserves in Serbia Down to a Day and a Half
The Institute for Transfusion of Blood needs at least 300 units of blood a day, and this week most days brought in fewer than 200. Who can donate, how to prepare and where to go this weekend.
Are Serbia’s blood reserves really running out? They are, and if you’re A positive, O positive or any negative type, this shortage has your name on it. On August 3, the Institute for Transfusion of Blood of Serbia issued an appeal to the public, warning that current reserves cover barely a day and a half of work for the country’s health institutions.
Reserves of A positive, O positive and every negative blood type have dropped below a one day supply. Only B positive stocks remain stable for now.
How much blood do hospitals need every day?
For health institutions to keep operating without delay, the Institute needs at least 300 units of blood a day. That number hasn’t been met in recent days. This week, only one day came close, while the rest brought in fewer than 200 units.
The gap looks small until you multiply it. A shortfall of about a hundred units a day over a single working week adds up to several hundred units missing from the system, and demand doesn’t drop just because it’s August.
The Institute points to high temperatures and summer holidays as the reason. People are at the seaside, in the countryside, or simply avoiding a trip downtown in the heat.
Negative blood types run short faster than others because they make up the smallest share of the population. O negative is also the universal donor, drawn on whenever there’s no time to type the recipient’s blood.
Why summer is always a problem
Because the same donors can’t be called on twice in the same month. Men have to wait 12 weeks after donating before they can give again, women 16 weeks. Anyone who gave blood in June won’t be due again before fall.
That’s why the summer shortage can’t be patched by people who have already donated. New donors are needed now, before that three and a half month gap pushes the whole problem into September.
Mirjana Knezevic of the Institute put the appeal plainly:
“We are calling on all healthy, adult citizens who are able to donate blood to do so as soon as possible. Only by joining forces can we guarantee uninterrupted treatment for every patient who needs a transfusion.”
Transfusions aren’t scheduled in advance. They’re needed after a traffic accident, a complicated birth, a surgery that goes wrong, or for a patient undergoing chemotherapy.
Who can donate blood?
The requirements are short, and you can check them in a minute before you head out:
- age 18 to 65
- body weight of at least 50 kilograms
- good general health, with no medication and no ongoing treatment
- no surgery in the past six months, which includes any cut or stitched skin
If you tick all four boxes, you’ve cleared the first filter. The final call is made by a doctor on site, right before donation, when your blood count is also checked.
How to prepare, step by step
Preparation fits into one morning:
- Drink more fluids than usual, the evening before and that morning.
- Eat a light meal before you go, never on an empty stomach.
- Bring your ID.
- Set aside an hour, including the talk with the doctor and the rest afterward.
Practical tip: go first thing in the morning, as soon as the doors open. Lines are shorter and the heat hasn’t set in yet.
Where to donate blood in Belgrade this week
The Institute for Transfusion of Blood of Serbia is open every weekday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
If your work week doesn’t leave room, the “Crveno-bela krv” (Red and White Blood) drive runs Friday and Saturday, August 7 and 8, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., at the Media Center of the Rajko Mitic Stadium, organized with Red Star Belgrade. The drive has taken place there for years and has become a summer ritual for part of the club’s fan base.
Our advice is simple. If you’re in Belgrade and meet the requirements, don’t wait for the weekend and the Marakana. Blood reserves are thin today, not on Friday.
