Bulgaria's blood donors get a 4-euro snack pack – amount unchanged since 2007
There are no rules on what the packs contain, and some hospitals hand out vouchers the regulation does not allow. Experts want uniform standards.
Symbolic image · Photo: R. Henrik Nilsson / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Bulgaria's state pays about 4.09 euros per donor for a restorative snack after giving blood, an amount that has not been raised since 2007, state broadcaster BNT reported. There are no requirements on what the packs contain: blood centers and hospital departments choose the products themselves, so donors in one place receive canned meat, juice and chocolate, while elsewhere they get wafers, crackers and dry pasta.
In Ruse and Pazardzhik, some donors receive vouchers valid only in certain shops and cafes. Krasimira Terzieva, director of the National Center for Transfusion Hematology, said the regulation does not allow vouchers and provides only for restorative food. A Ruse hospital said it chose vouchers because people's preferences differ.
Lawyer Stefka Popova-Lazarova of the Bulgarian organization for voluntary blood donation called for standardized and monitored packs. A regular donor from Ruse said 4 euros buys very little. The Health Ministry did not answer whether it could ensure identical packs at all centers.