News releases
Safe Blood Starts with Me - Blood Saves Lives
If you are at least 100 pounds (45 kilograms), in good health and are not suffering or have suffered from any serious illnesses, please donate blood. You can save a life.
The World Health Organization (WHO) made the appeal in the wake of the serious shortage of safe blood. Many people run the risk of receiving contaminated blood as only 20% to 30% of health systems are able to provide safe and adequate blood supplies.
WHO has dedicated World Health Day this year, on 7 April, to blood safety. By selecting the theme, "Safe blood starts with me - Blood saves lives", WHO urges people to safeguard their health by caring for that precious life source: their blood. WHO also aims to raise awareness of blood safety issues and encourage Member States to commit and support national blood programmes.
At the same time, WHO seeks to promote donations from voluntary, non-paid donors from low-risk populations. Although the move now is towards voluntary blood donation, many countries in the Region still have to rely on either paid donors or on family donations. "Paid donors may be in poor health, undernourished and at risk of having infections that can be passed on through transfusions. In many cases, paid donors are likely to give blood more often than is recommended, with the result that their blood may become substandard, lacking in iron, for instance," Dr Omi, WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific, pointed out.
To date, there are still a limited number of healthy people donating blood. Every year, over 75 million blood units are collected from blood donors but millions more are needed to fulfil global requirements and ensure availability of blood.
"Most people have probably never been asked to donate blood", said Dr Omi. People need to be given positive encouragement to donate blood. Education is a crucial part of any donor recruitment strategy. Before people can be motivated to donate blood for the benefit of others, they must understand how they, as individuals, can play an important part in contributing to the health care of others. To ensure a safe and adequate supply of blood and to implement voluntary non-paid donation from low-risk population require government commitment and support.
Dr Omi urged governments to review the requirements of all health authorities and see that they are committed to supporting blood services with sufficient funding. At the same time, health authorities should ensure that all necessary safety procedures are available and in place, are supported financially, and are protected and enforced by national legislation.
For more information, contact Mr Charles Raby, Public Information Officer at (632) 528 9983 or email: