World Blood Donor Day

[Lahore_Real_Estate]

KARACHI: One million bottles of blood are required in the country annually to meet the demand of patients while this paucity could be met if tendency of voluntary blood donation is boosted.

Every person who has haemoglobin level over 12.5 can donate blood and each bottle of blood can save three precious lives.

Merely one percent people donate blood in the country, which means that the shortfall of annual demand is 3.2 million blood units by 40 percent equivalent to 10 donations/1000 population.

These views were expressed by the health experts at a seminar and workshop organised by Aga Khan University and Umair Sana Foundation separately in connection with the World Blood Donor Day on Monday.

AKUH Consultant Haematologist Dr Bushra Moiz told the gathering that that there are three types of donors: family/replacement, voluntary non-remunerated and paid/commercial.

She said voluntary non-remunerated donors contribute less than 20 percent of all blood donations in the country, making it difficult to achieve the World Health Organisation’s goal of 100 percent voluntary blood donations by 2020.

She also pointed out that 2011 theme for World Blood Donor Day is “more blood, more life”, reinforcing the urgent need for more people all over the world to become life-savers by volunteering to donate blood regularly.

Consultant Haematologist, AKUH Dr Usman Shaikh said approximately three to four percent of the population suffers from viral hepatitis and other transmittable diseases. This makes it all the more important to screen donated blood.

He described the three steps already adopted by the AKUH to ensure a safe blood donation process, with blood donors selected after an interview and a mini-examination to ensure their physical fitness, followed by screening the blood for five transfusion-transmissible diseases including hepatitis B and C, HIV, malaria and syphilis. USF Manager Blood Bank Dr Syed Rahat Hussain addressing the participants of the workshop said people have misconception in donating blood or have fear that the donated blood may be misused rather than administering to deserving people.

He said according to latest research, the act of donating blood is very healthy process, adding that the donators also get screened various blood tests prior to giving blood.

He said the tendency of donating blood voluntarily in the country is equivalent to zero.