Advances in blood safety and transfusion medicine are discussed in a three-part Series and accompanying Editorial in this week's edition of The Lancet.
While the Series provides an update on the use of red blood cell, platelet and coagulation factors in transfusion medicine, the Editorial draws attention to the struggle to provide adequate and safe blood supplies in the developing world, in particular providing supplies to women who have lost blood during child birth, which contributes to 34% of maternal deaths in Africa, 31% in Asia and 21% in Latin America and the Carribean.
The Editorial says: "In many cases, blood is not available because effective systems for collection do not exist. To maintain an adequate blood supply, 1-3% of the population need to be blood donors. But of 172 donors responding to a survey released on World Donor Day by WHO, 80 have failed to achieve that mark with less than 1% of the population donating. 79 of these are in the developing world."
It adds that for many years, WHO has tried to help nations adopt a strategy for providing safe blood supplies which incorporates four key elements: Establishment of a nationally co-ordinated blood transfusion service, collection of blood from exclusively voluntary donors from low risk populations, testing of all blood for compatibility and transfusion-transmissible infections, and reduction of unnecessary transfusions.
The Editorial points out that many countries are making progress in these four areas, albeit slowly, concluding: "With political and financial support, such systems, either government run or independent, can establish the policies, set the standards, and provide the technical assistance needed to bring these life saving treatments even to resource-poor communities. The commitment is substantial, but so are the potential benefits."
The paper is found here: http://www.thelancet.com/webfiles/images/clusters/thelancet/press_office/transfusion.pdf
Journal
The Lancet