site.btaOver 600 People Donate Blood in Single Day for Victims in North Macedonia

Bulgaria’s Health Ministry said on Wednesday that on March 18 alone, more than 600 volunteers donated blood for the victims of the nightclub fire in Kocani, North Macedonia, who are receiving medical treatment in Bulgaria.

The largest number of donors was at the National Centre for Transfusion Hematology, where 218 people aided those hospitalized after the tragic incident.

Some donors were transported by NCTH buses from the Pirogov emergency hospital, where a mobile donation station was set up, to the blood centre on Bratya Miladinovi Str. in Sofia. Another 68 people donated blood on-site at the emergency hospital. Meanwhile, 109 donors contributed at the Military Medical Academy in Sofia.

At the Regional Centre for Transfusion Hematology (RCTH) in Plovdiv, a total of 112 volunteers donated blood. In RCTH-Varna, there were 68 donors, 35 were in RCTH-Pleven, and 14 in RCTH-Stara Zagora.

All blood centres report that the wave of solidarity continues.

Meanwhile, the three hospitals which have admitted patients from North Macedonia report no significant change in their overall condition. Pirogov has admitted a total of nine patients, two of whom have been extubated, while one is using an oxygen mask. The remaining patients remain on mechanical ventilation. The condition of those hospitalized at the Military Medical Academy in Varna and the St. George University Hospital in Plovdiv remains severe but stable.

A total of 59 people died and 155 suffered varying degrees of burns and injuries after a fire broke out at the Pulse nightclub in Kocani, North Macedonia, during a concert by the popular band DNK in the early hours of Sunday. Most of the victims were aged between 14 and 25. The fire was caused by sparks from pyrotechnics used for lighting effects at the concert. Hundreds of people rushed to the only exit as flames engulfed the roof of the building. Some of the victims of the fire have been admitted for treatment in Bulgaria. Fourteen of the victims were transported to Bulgaria by a Bulgarian Air Force Spartan aircraft and ambulances from the Emergency Medical Care Centre in Sofia.