Cuban Voluntary Blood Donation Program Successful

Cuban Voluntary Blood Donation Program SuccessfulHavana Jun 14. -Cuba is marking World Blood Donor Day on Monday with a successful program of voluntary donations led by the Public Health Ministry and the people's active participation.

With the safely donated blood, the country helps patients with different ailments and saves the economy foreign currency by substituting imports of blood products and medicine.

Voluntary and unpaid donation has characterized this project in Cuba, and thanks to its results, the country has the blood products it needs to support humanitarian projects such as transplants, cardiovascular surgery, oncology, and others.

This project was created in 1992 with the main objective of saving human lives. It was boosted by the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, the country's largest grassroots organization.

The program's members are working to improve donors' medical care with regard to dentistry and ophthalmology, as well as systematic checkups that guarantee an optimal donation.

The Pan-American Health Organization and other international health institutions consider Cuba to be an example in this effort, fostering a project that provides over 500,000 donations each year.

World Blood Donor Day was established to honor the prestigious Austrian biologist Kart Landsteiner. Born in 1968, he discovered the Rhesus factor. (Prensa Latina)