MDA israel

Magen David Adom will celebrate International Blood Donor Day in Israel and around the world. Data from MDA's blood services shows that from the last International Blood Donor Day until today, 260,687 units of blood were donated, of which 56,684 were received from new donors who donated their first unit of blood this year.

International Blood Donor Day is observed every year on June 14th with the aim of raising awareness of the importance of blood donations, and marks the birthday of Dr. Karl Landsteiner, an Austrian physician and biologist, who discovered in 1900 the existence of the different blood types. This discovery now allows blood transfusions for patients who need this treatment to save their lives. This year, International Blood Donor Day is marked by donating blood and plasma, two of the three components of blood that can be obtained from each unit.

According to the data of MDA's Blood Services, during the past year (14.6.22 and until today - 13.6.23), 260,687 blood units were donated in Israel which helped save the lives of about 800,000 sick and injured patients, as well as pregnant women in the country. 67% of the blood units were donated by men (174,758) and 33% by women (85,928). It also appears from the data published by MDA that 21.7% of all donors (56,684) donated blood this year for the first time in their lives. This is an increase of about 5% in the number of new donors compared to last year.

The ten cities with the largest numbers of blood donors are (ranked from highest to lowest):

At the top of the list is Jerusalem with 14,655 blood donations (5% of all donations in Israel), 9,548 of them men and 5,107 women. 8,892 blood units were donated in Tel Aviv which is about 3% of all donations in Israel, 5,572 men and 3,321 women. Haifa is in third place with 6,916 blood units which are 2.5% of all blood units donated in Israel, 4,433 of the donors in the city are men and 2,483 are women. In Petah Tikva 5,556 units of blood were donated by 3,781 men and 1,775 women. The city of Rishon Lezion registered 4,797 units of blood donated by 2,996 men and 1,801 women. The capital of the Negev, Be'er Sheva is in sixth place with 4,758 donations of blood units, 3,044 by men and 1,714 by women. Modi'in-Maccabim-Re'ut ranks seventh with 4,188 donations of blood units, 2,666 of the donors are men and 1,522 are women. In Ramat Gan 3,735 blood units were donated, with 2,331 of the donors being men and 1,404 women. In Ashdod 3,723 blood units were donated, 2,393 of the donors were men and 1,330 were women. In Ashkelon, which is ranked tenth in the index of donor cities, 3,381 blood units were donated by 2,064 men and 1,317 women.

MDA's Blood Services call on the public to come and donate every day in general and on International Blood Donor Day in particular, with the main donation centers that will be held on the festive day (Wednesday 14.6) being in Safra Square in Jerusalem between the hours of 11:00 and 19:30, in the Rishon LeZion City Hall building between the hours of 16:00 and 22:00, and at the Emek Hefer Regional Council building between the hours of 15:00 and 21:00. More information on blood donation stations spread throughout the country can be found on the MDA website at https://www.mdais.org/dam or by phone on 03-5300400. Check the information before arriving at the donation location, as there may be changes in the donation locations dates, or times. .

Director of the MDA's national blood donation department, Lior Altman: "Thanks to the volunteering of the residents of the State of Israel, the citizens and the soldiers, we succeed during the year in reaching the required goal to provide the blood doses to the sick, the wounded, and for women giving birth. We thank the many donors who freed up their time and came to donate. Blood donations can be made every three months and we invite the public to continue this important task of saving lives."

Director of Israel’s National Blood Services, Prof. Eilat Shinar: "We celebrate International Blood Donor Day following the important discovery of blood types by Dr. Karl Landsteiner over 120 years ago, which is still in use today, and thanks to it, blood transfusions can be given safely to the sick, injured, and women giving birth. It is important to remember that in order to meet the needs of the health system, with the aim of treating those who need a blood transfusion to save their lives, MDA's blood services are required to donate 1,000 units of blood every day. During the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of convalescents donated plasma doses that were used to treat and save the lives of patients with the disease. Last year, MDA's new blood services building was inaugurated in Ramla. It is the first blood bank of its kind in the world that is built underground and is protected against conventional and unconventional threats. The building will contain state-of-the-art and advanced equipment from the world's leading technologies and will allow the processing of up to half a million doses of blood per year. MDA's blood services thank all blood donors for their life-saving donations."

MDA Director General, Eli Bin: "In many cases, saving a life involves blood transfusions that arrive from the donor's arm through Magen David Adom's blood services to the patient and thus assist in critical medical treatment. With the help of hundreds of thousands of donors every year, we are able to carry out this important life-saving mission, and we help the sick, injured, and women giving birth throughout the country. We thank the citizens of Israel who donate, time after time, for the supreme value of giving and donate blood voluntarily for the benefit of all the residents of the State of Israel."