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Released on Friday World Blood Donor Day on June 14th, that is WHO The study offers the most comprehensive assessment of blood systems worldwide to date, based on data from 168 countries representing 97 percent of the global population.
That report highlights significant advances in blood donation and safety. More than 85 percent of blood donations worldwide now come from voluntary, unpaid donors – long considered the safest and most sustainable source of blood.
Progress remains uneven
Although many countries have strengthened national blood systems and expanded access to safe transfusions, supply shortages, weak governance, and inadequate funding continue to limit access in many low- and middle-income countries.
“Access to adequate and safe supplies of blood and blood products, coupled with safe transfusion practices, is a fundamental component of resilient health systems and an important factor in universal health coverage,” wrote Deusdedit Mubangizi, WHO Director of Medicines and Health Products Policy and Standards, in the foreword to the report.
“Despite significant progress in the last decade, universal access to safe blood and blood products remains difficult to achieve in many countries.”
More than just a transfusion
An adequate blood supply is essential for treating a wide range of medical conditions, from heavy bleeding during childbirth and emergency surgery to treating cancer, chronic blood disorders and severe anemia.
Donated plasma – the liquid part of blood – is also used to produce medicines for people suffering from bleeding disorders, immune deficiencies and other serious conditions.
When safe blood is not available, patients can die from treatable illnesses and injuries.
This report examines every stage of the transfusion chain, from donor recruitment and blood collection to laboratory testing, clinical use, and access to plasma-derived medicines.
Continuous challenge
The report identifies inadequate governance and unsustainable funding as one of the biggest obstacles facing national blood services in many countries.
The report also notes ongoing efforts to diversify plasma collection and strengthen global supply chains for plasma-derived pharmaceutical products, which remain inaccessible or affordable in many places.
To achieve equitable access, according to WHO, ongoing political commitment, stronger national systems and continued international cooperation are needed.
World Blood Donor Day
This year World Blood Donor Day This campaign carries the theme: “One Drop of Humanity. Give Blood. Saving Lives.”
The campaign aims to encourage regular voluntary blood donation while highlighting what WHO describes as the values of solidarity, compassion and shared responsibility that underlie safe blood systems around the world.
