The Importance Of Safe Blood Donation
Blood is essential to life; but what is blood? Blood is a fluid that circulates through our body and delivers essential substances like oxygen and nutrients to the body’s cells. It transports metabolic waste. It contains WBC which makes up body’s defense system, platelets which aid in wound healing and RBC which transports oxygen to cells and removes carbon dioxide. Beside these cells it contains a whole lot of essential substances vital for life. With advancement in medicine and science one would think something so crucial for life can be manufactured using latest Swiss technology, some meticulous formula, a rare plant perhaps or a little dash of this a little bit of that and viola we have made blood. But alas it is one of those marvelous things that cannot be synthesized. There is no substitute for blood; the only source of this vital liquid is through healthy donors.
Every minute someone in the world needs blood. Be it during major surgeries, injuries, infections or complication of childbirth. To make up for the body’s blood loss, blood from a donor is given through an intravenous line. This is called blood transfusion and is one of the commonest procedures done in hospitals. Some people lack essential component of blood due to genetic mutations, diseases or cancers thus require replacement of blood components. To meet up with this increasing requirement an adequate and reliable supply of safe blood should be ensured by contribution of regular, voluntary donors.
Blood is collected from donors after screening for possible infectious agents. It is screened to determine blood type and RH status. After screening, it is stored at cold temperature in blood banks. Whenever required it is cross-matched with the patient and then transfused. Theoretically it appears pretty simple but practically it is not. Most blood transfusions go very smoothly some may encounter mild problems and often there are serious life threatening conditions. Transfusions can trigger allergic reactions in recipients which vary from mild to severe. It can be caused due to immune response to blood components. Some infectious agents such as HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, syphilis can be transmitted to recipient if the blood is not properly screened.
Moreover, transfusions may cause sudden onset of fever due to body’s normal response to foreign WBC. Getting transfusions more than necessary can cause iron overload. Improper cross matching of blood can cause acute immune hemolytic reaction, which occurs if mis-matched blood is transfused. Rarely, the WBC in donor blood attack recipient’s tissues reaction, a fatal condition leading to organ damage. Transfusion associated injuries can be due to technical errors, inadequate knowledge of transfusion, unsterile conditions, improper blood storage, bacterial contamination, fluid overload and inadequate screening for blood borne diseases. The incidence of these transfusion related adverse effects is low in developed countries but they still pose a major threat in developing countries.
Many patients do not have access to blood when they need it. 82% of the world population lives in developing countries but only 38% of the annual global blood is collected there. This blood shortage plays a huge impact on mortality associated with trauma, genetic conditions and complications of pregnancy. Even if sufficient blood is available, many people get exposed to life threatening risks which can be avoided through safe transfusion practices. Blood is an important vector for transmission of malaria, hepatitis B and C, syphilis, AIDS and chaga’s disease. With the current rise in AIDS more people are exposed to HIV through inadequate screened blood. About 5% of HIV infections are transmitted by unsafe transfusion as a result of collection of blood from unsafe donors, inadequate screening tests, poor lab testing, untrained staff and absence of regulatory body. 99.98% of blood donations in high income countries are screened following basic quality procedures versus only 83.2% in lower middle income countries and 76.2% in low income countries.
Access to safe blood and blood products cannot be achieved without cost but unsafe transfusion is more costly. Not only does it increase morbidity rates but also mortality and disabilities which decreases productivity of individuals towards progress of a nation. The transfusion of infected blood increases the prevalence of infections and also increases the incidence of diseases. These diseases in turn become endemic which requires increase medical and social care. There is higher dependency level which further burdens social and health services and drains national resources.
It is the need of hour that we devise a system for collection and transfusion of safe blood. Although it will require precious government funds but in the long run this will prove an investment. WHO has given guidelines for transfusion and safe blood collection. It is now the duty of our government to implement these strategies. For this we need a well-organized nationwide coordinated system, with the aim to provide safe blood to those in need. The public should be educated via media and seminars on the importance of blood donation. They should be educated on effective screening procedures. Blood donors should fill out proper screening forms. Testing of all donated blood should be done for transmissible infections, blood grouping and compatibility testing. There should be adequate facilities for proper storage of blood. There should be appropriate clinical use of blood, including use of alternatives whenever possible.
There should be proper training of everyone included in the process, from donor screening till transfusion. They should be specifically trained for this purpose. This will not only ensure safe process but will also reduce iatrogenic adverse effects. A quality system should be devised which regulates and monitors the whole process. Donated blood is a life line in emergencies. One out of every seven hospitalized patient requires blood. One pint can save up to three lives. Despite advancement in science this elixir of life cannot be cultivated, grown or synthesized. Donation is the only way we can give blood to those in need. By giving blood we give people a gift, the greatest gift of all; the gift of life.
