Preparedness means foresight, continuity and speed
The Blood Service is always ready to deliver the products patients need to hospitals, every day, 24/7. The key capabilities of a preparedness organisation are foresight, continuity and speed. We strengthened these capabilities throughout the entire chain of operations in many different ways during the 2025 reporting year.
The Finnish Parliament granted the Blood Service a three-year state subsidy for national blood supply preparedness. This will enable us to significantly strengthen our preparedness by, for example, increasing our material stocks. Our national role as the organisation responsible for the blood supply in Finland was also noted in the revised Security Strategy for Society.
In blood supply, everything starts with blood donors. We received excellent support from our corporate and community partners in recruiting and encouraging them. For example, already over 500 workplaces have adopted our workplace certificate. These organisations give their employees the opportunity to donate blood during working hours.
We have not yet reached our targets for the number of new blood donors, but there have been many other positive developments. For example, the proportion of male blood donors increased, and projects to diversify the donor base yielded good results. The trilingual mobile app for blood donors reached over 100,000 users.
We developed our product range, distribution and logistics with a particular focus on preparedness and operational reliability. Digital systems and services are always part of this process, from the blood donor to the patient. One of the most important reforms was the process change for platelet products, which improved the safety of this short-life product while extending its shelf life. It has been great to see how satisfied our customers have been with the change once they have learned to utilise its potential through cooperation.
The Blood Service’s Stem Cell Registry has an excellent reputation as a reliable and trustworthy operator. Many new members joined the registry, and we delivered a record number of grafts to seriously ill patients.
Our product development succeeded in producing new products to meet patient needs. We manufactured the first CAR-T cell therapy product for clinical research, produced a whole blood product for use in emergency care, and began manufacturing serum eye drops for the treatment of serious eye diseases. Product development is supported by our strong research activities, as evidenced by the four doctoral dissertations published during the year.
The success of the Blood Service in supporting healthcare requires partners, our own and our networks’ expertise, as well as dialogue and a shared understanding of the situation. I would like to thank our partners, blood donors and staff for their work on behalf of patients in need. Thank you very much!
Pia Westman, Director of the Blood Service