Albania lacking blood for patients

TIRANA, Aug 26 – The country’s health authorities have appealed to the public to donate blood, as they have only half of the reserves on hand to meet current needs.
Blood is now being collected from volunteer donations and few persons are allowed to give blood in exchange for payment. Authorities also said they have failed to find blood abroad and import it, adding that, chronically, suffering persons were particularly threatened by the low blood supplies.
An imported unit of blood costs 150 Euros compared to 12 Euros for a donated one. However, officials said Albania also lacks the proper infrastructure to import blood, according to vice health minister Arben Ivanaj. The shortage of blood is a result of the increase in road accidents during the summer months when hundreds of thousands of immigrants, traveling in cars, populate the roads and increase the amount of traffic. (Tirana Times Staff)