Until today, blood components could be stored for a maximum of 42 days. A special bank will save red blood cells for up to 30 years. In a full-scale war, this is a matter of national security, according to the Ministry of Health.
On Thursday, March 2, the only bank in Ukraine for the long-term storage of erythrocytes was officially opened in Kyiv. It will allow storing blood components for 30 years. This was reported on the government portal.
Until today, the maximum storage period was 42 days.
As specified, work on the Bold Blood project, implemented on the basis of the Kyiv City Blood Center, began immediately after the Russians invaded Ukraine in February last year. This is due to the fact that the state has sharply increased the need for high-quality medical care for wounded servicemen and patients with complex cases.
The bank of long-term storage of erythrocytes in Kyiv became the first in Ukraine
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First Deputy Head of the Kyiv City State Administration Mykola Povoroznyk said that the opening of a special bank of erythrocytes will allow storing components of rare blood groups, which are often in short supply and not always available in sufficient quantities in emergency situations.
“We understand that the creation of a blood bank today is not only relevant, but also vital,” the city official emphasized.
According to the Deputy Minister of Health and the chief state sanitary doctor of the country Igor Kuzin, in the conditions of a full-scale war, constant access of doctors to donor blood and its components is an important element of the defense capability and a guarantee of Ukraine’s national security.
The bank was opened on the basis of the Kyiv blood center
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To equip a special bank, the Kiev City Blood Center supplied all the necessary equipment, including an apparatus for automatic freezing and thawing of erythrocytes,
Red blood cells are the cellular components of blood whose main task is to transport oxygen from the lungs to the tissues of the human body.
Recall, on January 26, Oksana Banakh, director of the Vinnitsa Regional Blood Transfusion Center, said that numerous calls on social networks to immediately become donors after tragic incidents in Ukraine can contribute to panic in society and have the opposite effect.
