Today, on November 17, 2011, the MMA’s Management Board led by the MMA’s head Col. Prof. Dr. Marijan Novaković has voluntarily donated blood to the MMA’s Blood Transfusion Institute.

The direct reason for this action aimed at increasing the awareness of the importance of such a humane gesture, which directly save lives of people, is reopening of a newly refurbished and modernized Blood Collection Unit at the MMA’s Blood Transfusion Institute. Conditions for collecting up to 70% of the total blood donations, as well as the possibility to directly produce unstable and stable chemo products were, thus, created.

During today’s blood donation campaign, around 5 liters of blood were collected.

The MMA’s Blood Transfusion Institute was established 6 decades ago – in addition to its primary responsibility to diagnose and treat hematological, and other diseases and disorders as well, it is also responsible for providing chemo products to the MMA’s clinics and other medical and healthcare facilities, if required and possible.

During the first several decades of its existence and work, more precisely until the end of 1990s, the number of blood donations collected by the Institute within its premises was about 5-10%, while the units of blood collected in the field, exclusively in the Armed Forces garrisons, amounted up to 90-95 % of blood donations. A considerable reduction of military manpower commensurate with its restructuring, and the changes in the structure of hospitalized patients as well (i.e. an increased number of civilian insured), imposed the need for altering the blood collection strategy, that is, adjustment to newly created conditions, in order to meet all the MMA’s needs for chemo products.

In 2011, the unit of the Conservation Blood Department has undergone considerable changes and adaptations (modernization and extension) in order to secure efficient and appropriate blood collection in line with the standards currently in place, and new procedures have been introduced to functionally improve the work

Today, due to all that, the Institute can collect blood from a hundred or even more blood donors each day, if required, following the highest standards of Transfusion Medicine.