According to the Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization (IBTO), Rabiei told reporters on the sidelines of the Wednesday cabinet meeting that blood donation is a symbol of a responsible society, noting that the continuation of this process is on the shoulder of every single civilian.
He made the remark two days after June 14, which is called World Blood Donor Day.
"We should consider blood donation as a humanitarian, religious and moral duty because we the Iranian people can feel better when we donate blood," he said.
According to the statistics reported by the World Health Organization, the rate of blood donation in Iran is 1.5 times more than in other countries with moderate-income levels.
However, he referred to the negative impact of the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic on the blood donation rate in Iran, saying that the IBTO experienced eight percent decline in a blood bank last year, while the World Health Organization predicted a 20 to 30 percent decrease in blood reservoirs of other countries.
The spokesman for the Iranian government donated blood and he has a background in donating plasma for COVID-19 treatment.
According to the WHO, countries in the Eastern Mediterranean region consist of Afghanistan, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, the UAE, and Yemen.
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