Blood donation landscape in Bulgaria: data analytics insights from 2024

The paper presents data and analysis of the blood group distributions of the Bulgarian population for the year 2024, retrieved from the national information system serving the centres and departments of transfusion haematology. Several significant indicators are considered in both national and regional aspects and in both absolute numbers and percentages. The study is particularly focused on tracing the ABO system blood type frequencies, Rh(D) antigen (rhesus factor) frequencies and certain demographic indicators of blood donation activity, including blood donor's sex, age, location and type of donation (voluntary or family/replacement). The atomic approach towards data analysis, adopted as early as the research planning phase, has given vast opportunities for data stratification in various ways and for discovering patterns, regional specifics and even data anomalies. The presented data and conclusions can serve in planning the operation and resources of the centres and departments of transfusion haematology on national and regional levels, for information backup of the blood donation campaigns and for raising the society's awareness and sensibility towards the needs and benefits of voluntary blood donation as the safest and most sustainable source of blood supply. This article is part of the theme issue 'Data driven modelling for living systems'.