Number of Blood Donors on Rise, Number of First-time Donors Also Increasing

Bratislava, 14 June (TASR) - Interest in blood donation has increased in recent years, with the number of registered voluntary blood donors rising from 293,442 in 2022 to 301,571 in 2023, according to data from the National Health Information Centre (NCZI) published in connection with World Blood Donor Day on June 14. In 2023, the majority of donors were men (over 190,000), while women accounted for approximately 111,000. The number of first-time donors also increased compared to last year. "While there were 22,129 of them in 2022, a year later we recorded 22,955 men and women who decided to donate blood to others for the first time, and they deserve our respect and admiration," said NCZI spokeswoman Alena Krcova. The highest number of first-time donors was in Zilina region, which is also at the top in the number of regular donors. Overall, there were 3,683 more regular donors in 2023 than the previous year. lin/am