The Bulgarian Hospital Association (BHA) has requested meetings with representatives of the Ministry of Health (MoH) and the provision of clear, specific guidelines. The aim of this request is to clarify who is responsible for ensuring the necessary supply of blood for medical procedures across the country and how this will be managed.
The BHA's position comes in response to a statement from the Association of Patients Active in Healthcare, which called on the Ministry of Health to investigate the practice where medical institutions make the provision of blood donation certificates a mandatory condition for hospitalization or elective surgery.
"We will insist that the institutions find a sustainable solution so that medical facilities have the necessary blood to provide safe treatment," the association added. The BHA urged citizens to continue donating blood, emphasizing that there is always someone in need of it, even if they are a stranger to the donor.
At present, there is no regulatory requirement that blood for a specific patient must be donated in a particular city or region. Blood donation is a voluntary and altruistic act, and the law imposes no restrictions on it. Anyone wishing to do so may donate blood at transfusion hematology centers or at transfusion hematology departments within regional multi-profile hospitals.