100% discount in all of Poland? Rules for blood donors

• A parliamentary interpellation was sent to the ministries of health and infrastructure, the author of which asks about the possibility of introducing a nationwide discount on public transport for honorary blood donors
• - The government administration does not define the rules or finance public transport from the state budget - said Przemysław Koperski, Deputy Minister of Infrastructure
• - Compensation should never be linked to the donation, including its final purpose or the quality of what was donated - added Deputy Minister of Health Jerzy Szafranowicz

Paulina Matysiak, MP from the Razem party, submitted an interpellation to the Minister of Infrastructure and the Minister of Health regarding the introduction of a nationwide discount on public transport for honorary blood donors.

As she pointed out, many municipalities have local regulations granting voluntary blood donors discounts on public transport fares. However, their scope is not uniform and depends on the donor's place of residence.

- In some cities and municipalities, full relief (100%) is only available to people who have achieved the highest level of meritorious voluntary blood donor, i.e. have donated at least 18 liters of blood (men) or 15 liters (women) . Lower levels of voluntary donation (e.g. 10 or 12 liters) do not entitle to such support, which may demotivate people from donating blood regularly - the MP said.

She also added, for example, that in Kutno, systemic solutions were introduced, providing all honorary blood donors with 100% discount on public transport fees, regardless of the amount of blood donated .

- This solution is an expression of gratitude to donors and at the same time effectively promotes regular blood donation, which in consequence increases the national supplies of this valuable fluid that saves lives - indicated the author of the interpellation.

In connection with this, she asked questions about whether the Ministry of Infrastructure is considering introducing a uniform nationwide system of discounts on public transport for all honorary blood donors, regardless of the level of their donation; whether the government plans to support municipalities in implementing such discounts through appropriate financial mechanisms; whether the ministries have conducted analyses of the impact of introducing nationwide discounts on the number of blood donors and the availability of this benefit in cities that have already implemented similar solutions.

Undersecretary of State in the Ministry of Infrastructure Przemysław Koperski responded that " undertaking actions in the scope of introducing discounts in public transport is the responsibility of individual local government units, which are responsible for the organization of public transport within their area of ​​competence. Local government units (as organizers of public transport) have the right to determine on their own, in the transport they provide, both the group of passengers entitled to discounts and the extent of these discounts."

He also pointed out that the revenues lost by companies providing passenger transport services due to the recognition of certain discounts for passengers in public transport are covered in full from the budgets of these entities. For this reason, depending on the local transport policy and the wealth of individual local governments, "there may be differences in this respect in the transport organized by these entities within public transport" .

- The government administration does not define the rules or finance public transport from the state budget. Therefore, in principle, the legislator does not impose on local authorities by law the obligation to apply travel discounts applicable to this type of transport. Consequently, it does not collect information on travel discounts established by individual local governments within their area of ​​competence, nor on the costs incurred by these local governments to finance these discounts - added the deputy minister.

He also concluded that "the issue of passengers' entitlement to statutory travel discounts in extra-urban transport is not an element of the state transport policy, which is the responsibility of the Minister of Infrastructure, but - as in this specific case - it is an element of health policy implemented in particular by the Minister of Health."

On behalf of the Ministry of Health, Deputy Minister Jerzy Szafranowicz responded. At the outset, he recalled that " blood donation in Poland, as in the whole of Europe, is honorary, voluntary and cannot entail any financial reward ."

- Compensation should never be linked to the donation, including its final purpose or the quality of what was donated. Reimbursement of incurred expenses and actual costs may be made if the donor can prove them. Any compensation for lost earnings should be precisely calculated, as the donor should neither lose nor gain financially. At the same time, only in exceptional situations, it is possible to introduce compensation of a fixed amount. It is also permitted to pay donors compensation for damage related to the donation - emphasized the Deputy Minister of Health.

He also added that in the promotion of donation, priority should be given to measures aimed at altruism .

What are the rights of blood donors:

• leave from work,
• reimbursement of lost earnings under the terms of labor law,
• reimbursement of travel costs to the organizational unit of the public blood service,
• regeneration meal,
• the possibility of deducting a donation from income tax in the amount of the compensation amount,
• free supply of medicines covered by the lists up to the financing limit,
• the right to use health care services out of turn, including sanatorium treatment and pharmaceutical services provided in pharmacies.

At the same time, Szafranowicz pointed out that "these rights should be considered not in the context of the main premises determining the donation, but of the reimbursement of costs incurred and evidence of appreciation and gratitude for the donated blood and its components."

- The introduction of the proposed travel discounts, as a systemic solution, seems to go beyond the idea of ​​honorary, voluntary and unpaid blood donation . The above was also confirmed by the position of the Committee on Petitions of the Senate of the Republic of Poland, which, at its meeting on February 7, 2024, considered it unjustified to expand the catalogue of rights granted to blood donors, indicating that its expansion contradicts the idea of ​​honorary and altruistic donation - he concluded.

He agreed with the position of the Ministry of Infrastructure that the aforementioned extension of entitlements to concessionary travel leads to increased expenses, which means the need to seek additional funds within their maximum limit. Therefore, each "adopted legal solution that would additionally burden the public finance sector requires a detailed analysis in terms of the availability of funds and ensuring sources of financing."

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