The domestic production capacity for blood bags has surpassed 12,000 annually, said Ali Akbar Pourfathollah, head of the Iran Blood Transfusion Organization. “The capacity is several times the domestic demand, and therefore we are thinking of expanding our market overseas,” he said, IRNA reported. Since March 2015, processed blood products have been priced on the basis of a directive by the Minister of Cooperatives, Labor and Social Welfare Ali Rabiei. Over 2.1 million blood units are donated to the IBTO every year and its annual capacity has currently reached 400,000 liters of plasma production. Earlier studies said that there are 23 people per 1,000, donating blood in the country. Two foreign firms have expressed readiness to invest in blood bag production in Iran, according to Pourfathollah. The names of the companies was not available.
