TEHRAN (Iran News) –The Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization received the Excellence Award for 2022 from the Asian Association of Blood Transfusion Medicine (AATM).

AATM’s Excellence Awards are bestowed annually to individuals and institutions who have “contributed to the cause of transfusion medicine at a trans-national level, especially for Asian countries.”

The IBTO, selected as the first top organization in Asia, received this award.

“Very few organizations at the international level with humanitarian motives have contributed to the development and growth of blood transfusion in other countries.
In the meantime, the Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization has taken great steps in improving human resources and promoting quality development programs in Asian countries with numerous collaborations in the form of joint memorandums, holding numerous training courses, and also hosting the annual congresses.
For this reason, this association is proud to announce the Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization as the first winner of this award,” according to the statement published by AATM.

This award was presented to Mahtab Maqsoodlou, the representative of the IBTO, at the 17th Annual Congress of the Asian Society of Transfusion Medicine, which was held from December 1 to 3, in Bangladesh.

Admirable measures
Iran’s blood transfusion measures are admirable and influential in the region, Mikoko Senga, the deputy representative of the World Health Organization in Iran, said in July.

“I was impressed by the infrastructure and facilities of the Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization,” she added.

Referring to her work experience in different countries in the region, she considered Iran to be an influential country in the field of health and hygiene, and in particular, praised the actions of the IBTO.
In August 2021, the Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization and the High Institute for Research and Education in Transfusion Medicine were selected for the third time as partner centers of the World Health Organization.
Blood donation in Iran has long been done voluntarily as over 2.1 million Iranians donate blood annually.
While blood donation in 70 countries still depends on replacement or paid donors, Iran is the first country in the region that has enjoyed voluntary blood donation by 100 percent since 2007.

More than 85 percent of all donated blood worldwide is used to produce blood products, while the rate is 65 percent in Eastern Mediterranean countries.
Iran ranks among the highest-income countries in terms of converting more than 97 percent of the blood donated by people to plasma-derived medicinal products (PDMP).