The management of St. Anna University Hospital - Sofia AD has issued an official statement regarding publications and signals in the public domain about the work of the Transfusion Hematology Department.
The medical institution categorically states that the allegations about returned or refused blood donors do not correspond to the objective truth.
"Not a single citizen who wished to donate blood and met the medical criteria for this was turned away by our teams," the management of St. Anna University Hospital - Sofia stated.
The Transfusion Hematology Department works daily and accepts voluntary blood donors in accordance with the requirements of the Law on Blood, Blood Donation and Blood Transfusion. On average, about 20 people donate blood in the department daily.
According to the law, the medical institution provides donors with the necessary food and drinks after the procedure. The hospital specifies that the application and supply of these products is carried out monthly, and a transitional reserve is also provided between individual deliveries.
On October 1, a total of 31 voluntary blood donors passed through the department. This was over 50% more than the usual average daily number.
As a result of the unusually high number of donors, by the end of the working day the available stock of packaged food was completely exhausted.
The hospital specified that the regular delivery of food and drinks for the new month had been planned in advance and arrived at the hospital at 09:00 on October 2.
Between 08:00 and 09:00 on the same day, four people came to donate blood. The medical staff performed all the necessary examinations and standard blood collection procedures.
The team informed the donors about the short delay in the delivery and apologized for the inconvenience caused. The four were offered to receive the support packages immediately after the delivery arrived.
"In order to compensate for the temporary discomfort of the donors and driven entirely by collegial concern and deep personal respect for their noble gesture, the colleague on duty - a doctor in the ward - took personal initiative and purchased tonic drinks and chocolate for the donors," the hospital stated.
All four donors donated blood successfully. One of them preferred not to wait for the regular food package to be provided and left the ward immediately after the procedure was completed.
The University Hospital "St. Anna - Sofia" once again emphasizes that at no time was there a refusal to take blood and no donor was turned away. The work of the transfusion hematology department has not been interrupted.
The hospital management apologizes to the affected blood donors for the organizational inconvenience.
The medical facility has already implemented corrective measures to improve logistical planning and increase the minimum thresholds of the buffer reserve of nutritional supplements. The goal is to prevent such a temporary shortage in the event of a sudden increase in the number of donors.
The hospital is fully cooperating with the investigating authorities from the Executive Agency for Medicines and the Ministry of Health for the complete clarification of the case.
From the University Hospital "St. Anna - Sofia" define blood donation as a voluntary and unpaid act of solidarity, which is of key importance for saving human lives.
"We express our gratitude to all unpaid donors and call on Bulgarian citizens to continue donating blood, because their empathy is irreplaceable", the medical institution stated.