Zahedan University of Medical Sciences

Report from: Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, International Affairs Office
Published on: 24 February 2023

The first meeting of blood transfusion directors of G5 member countries, namely Iran, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan plus the World Health Organization, and the 25th meeting of senior experts of G5 member countries in the field of health was held in Tehran, I.R. of Iran from February 14th to February 15th, 2023.

This meeting was held with the presence of H.E. Dr. Bahram Ain Elahi, Iran"s Minister of Health, Treatment and Medical Education, Dr. Mustafa Jamali, Honorable CEO of Iran Blood Transfusion Organization, Dr. Hussein Ali Shahriari, Honorable Chairman of the Parliament Health and Treatment Commission, Dr. Mohammad Hossein Niknam, Special Assistant to the Minister and Director General of International Cooperation of the Iran"s Ministry of Health, Dr. Ahmed Al-Mandhari, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, Dr. Jafar Hossein, Head of Mission and Representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Iran, Dr. Yetmgeta E. Abdella, Medical Officer, Blood and other products of Human origin, EMRO Office, WHO, Dr. Yuyun Siti Maryuningsih, Health Products Policy and Standard Department (HP), Access to Medicine and Health Products Division (MHP), WHO Headquarter, Geneva, Switzerland, blood transfusion authorities and officials of four member countries and blood transfusion experts at the World Health Organization country office experts. Tajikistan was also present in this meeting as an observer member.

During the meeting the attendees had two days of technical and specialized discussions areas including: voluntary non-remunerated blood donation, blood product preparation and fractionation, blood products screening, and modern technologies for safer blood transfusion. The delegation from state members also visited Iranian Blood Transfusion facilities and achievements of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

It should be noted that access to adequate blood supply is limited in the region, and about a third of the Eastern Mediterranean countries still do not have access to enough blood. Most countries still depend largely on family replacement donors. Moreover, only 79 percent of whole blood donations are processed into components, and there is not enough access to plasma-derived medicinal products (PDMP) in some countries.

The Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization established almost 50 years ago, has succeeded in making a significant progress in off, including offering quality blood transfusion services. Iran is the first country in the region that has enjoyed voluntary blood donation by 100 percent since 2007. Iran ranks among the highest-income countries in terms of processing more than 97 percent of whole blood donations to plasma-derived medicinal products (PDMP). Hence, IBTO has achieved a high ranking in many fields of those services as compared to other countries in the region and the world, so the countries of the region welcome the transfer of experiences in this field.

Dr. Jaffar Hussain, the representative of World Health Organization in Iran, stated: "In my meeting with Dr. Tedros, the Director General of the World Health Organization, he encouraged the G5 to boost cooperation and called other countries to follow this model of cooperation in different regions."
Dr. Mostafa Jamali, the CEO of the Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization noted that the rate of whole blood donations per 1000 population in Iran is 25 blood donations, which is twice as much as the average regional blood donations. Dr. Jamali noted that the conference"s main objective is to pave the way for getting acquainted with the capacities of each member state as well as the expression of the existing problems in order to remove obstacles and improve the capabilities of the World Health Organization.

The Iranian official also noted that cultural, historical, religious, and ethnic commonalities among the member states create proper ground to reach the goal, which should be considered as an important factor in the future programming of the G5 secretariat.

In this meeting, the Chancellors of medical sciences universities of the border provinces, including the Chancellor of Zahedan University of Medical Sciences Dr. Habib Ghaznavi, as well as the Advisor to ZAUMS Chancellor for International Affairs, were also present.

Copyright © 2023 Zahedan University of Medical Sciences. All rights reserved. Date updated: 24/02/2023
Should you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact us on: internationaloffice@zaums.ac.ir