World Blood Donor Day will be celebrated throughout the world for the fifth year on 14 June 2008 under the theme, “Giving blood regularly”. This is in recognition of the fact that an increase in the number of people who give blood voluntarily and regularly is the only means of ensuring that safe blood is accessible to every patient who needs it. For many patients, blood transfusion is the only means of survival; however, in the rural areas of some Member States blood is either not available or not safe.
It is gratifying to note that an increasing number of countries in the African Region have committed themselves to provide safe blood to their populations by developing and operationalizing policies on blood safety. Due to these policies, clear strategic directions and the WHO Regional Strategy on Blood Safety, an increasing number of countries are collecting blood from voluntary blood donors. The target for 2012 is for countries to collect more than 80% of blood donations from voluntary non-remunerated donors. By 2006, 79% of the total donations in the African Region were from voluntary donors.
Similar improvement has occurred in testing of blood for diseases known to be transmissible by transfusion and in promotion of appropriate clinical use of blood. These encouraging advances, however, need to be consolidated and improved in order to meet the blood requirements of the Region, estimated at about 8 million units per year for a population of over 773 million.
In the celebration of World Blood Donor Day 2008, the WHO expresses gratitude to the countless voluntary donors, who, over the years, have contributed blood to the survival of so many individuals without expecting any immediate tangible rewards. Their only reward is knowing that their donations have meant the survival of so many individuals, unnamed strangers, who have benefitted without distinction of age, sex, medical condition, income, class, religion or ethnicity. Our request to donors is that they continue to donate regularly so as to ensure sustainable availability of the gift of blood to all deserving patients.
Health authorities and partners should continue to be involved in recruitment and management of blood donors, encouraging and requesting them to donate regularly. They should create mechanisms as well as conducive and enabling environments that will motivate blood donors to participate periodically.
The health sector should continue to look at blood donors as important partners in strengthening health care systems; they ultimately contribute to improving the quality of health care delivery for all people. Blood donors are much more than providers of a commodity for management of patients or raw materials for the manufacturing industry.
On World Blood Donor Day, the WHO reaffirms its commitment to support all efforts aimed at improving voluntary blood donations and blood transfusion services in the African Region.
Thank you.
Dr. Luis G. Sambo,
Regional Director