On Thursday, 3 March, the Saeima adopted in the final reading urgent amendments to the Medical Treatment Law delegating the Cabinet of Ministers to establish regulations regarding the import and export of human blood and blood components.

The adopted amendments were proposed in order to ensure the exchange of blood and its components outside the state borders in crisis situations.

According to the authors of the Draft Law at the Ministry of Health, the regulations are to be applied only in exceptional cases when the locally available resources are not sufficient in a crisis situation.

To justify the urgent nature of the amendments, the authors of the Draft Law at the Ministry of Health note that, due to the significant number of casualties in the armed conflict in Ukraine initiated by the Russian Federation, a necessity to exchange blood components outside the state borders could arise in order to provide additional blood supply necessary to save the wounded.

The amendments will enter into force on the next day after their promulgation.

Saeima Press Service