Dr. Urvershi Kotwal,
Dr. Sushant Kumar Meinia
The Transfusion of blood and blood components has been an indispensable component of healthcare that helps in improving health and contributes to saving millions of lives each year with a variety of acute and chronic conditions which may be encountered in routine and emergencies.
Indications for different blood components (Red Blood Cells, Platelets, Plasma, Cryoprecipitate) are variable. Blood is essentially required in cases of bleeding due to trauma and major surgeries and to treat inherited chronic blood disorders such as thalassemia and other hemoglobin disorders, which continues as a lifeline for these patients. Moreover, blood components are also needed to treat various malignancies (hematological and solid cell tumors). It is also essential in maternal and perinatal care, especially post-partum hemorrhage.
Despite this, there is a massive gap in the clinical demand (estimated to be 14.6 million units) and supply of blood and blood components (11.1 million units) as given in the “National Estimation of Blood Requirement” report in 2018 by National Aids Control Organization (NACO). It also has highlighted the fact that with an annual growth rate of 0.8 to 1% in the total population in our country, it is estimated that this demand is going to increase every passing year.

World Blood Donor Day

In recent times, the world has been struggling due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which further strained the existing demand and supply gap. A few days back, there was a tragic railway accident that happened in Balasore District in Odisha where nearing 300 passengers were killed and over 1000 of the passengers were injured. These injured passengers needed a vast number of blood units that were catered to by more than 3000 volunteers who donated blood units at the time of crisis.
Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir are also susceptible to various natural disasters such as earthquakes, landslides, floods, and avalanches due to their unique terrain, besides man-made disasters, including road traffic accidents, terrorist attacks, fires, etc. Hence, the requirement and importance of blood donation have become even more significant in every corner of the world, including UT of J&K.
To commemorate the need and the significance of voluntary Blood Donation, World Blood Donor Day is celebrated on 14th of June each year.
Motto
World Blood Donor Day has a further purpose: to create broader awareness throughout the globe about the need for the availability of safe Blood and the appropriate and rational use of blood and blood products, and the need for many more people to make a commitment to regular voluntary unpaid blood donations.
It has been designed and formulated to complement rather than replace the national blood donor days or weeks organized in several countries. Some are held at the same time as World Blood Donor Day, while others occur at different times of the year. It also provides a springboard for blood safety programs and campaigns throughout the year, as well as broader activities to strengthen blood transfusion services.
Theme 2023
Each year there is a unique theme for the world blood donor day campaign. This year’s theme is “Give blood, give plasma, share life, share often,” targeting patients who require life-long transfusion support. It also emphasizes the contribution of every single blood donor who can be a role model by donating blood or plasma. It also highlights the need to give blood or plasma regularly to provide a safe and sustainable supply of blood and blood products to cater to the demand and to provide them with timely treatment.
The objectives are to:
* celebrate and felicitate individuals who donate blood and to encourage more people to become new donors.
* encourage people in good health to donate blood regularly, as often as is safe and possible, to transform the quality of life for transfusion-dependent patients and help to build a secure blood supply in all countries in the world.
* highlight the critical roles of voluntary non-remunerated regular blood and plasma donations in achieving universal access to safe blood products for all populations; and
* mobilize support at national, regional, and global levels among governments and development partners to invest in, strengthen and sustain national blood programs.
Challenges in achieving 100 percent Voluntary Blood Donation in India and other developing countries:
* Lack of Infrastructure, facilities, and equipment for blood transfusion services.
* Inadequate finances and resources.
* Lack of community awareness and participation.
* Ineffective donor Communication Strategies.
* Lack of recognition of blood donors.
* Inability to reach the masses.
* Lack of public trust in blood transfusion services.
* Unpleasant experiences of blood donors.
* Lack of Quality Assurance in Voluntary Blood Donations.
To overcome these challenges, the WHO has proposed a global action plan with four broad goals and 20 well-defined strategies to address the main deterrents and challenges in achieving 100% voluntary blood donation. This framework can serve as a guiding tool for developing programs that can be implemented and executed at community, regional, national, and international levels.
WHO GOALS
Goal A: Create an enabling environment for 100% voluntary non-remunerated blood donation.
Strategy 1: Advocate for 100% voluntary blood donation.
Strategy 2: Establish a national voluntary blood donor program.
* Incorporate 100% voluntary blood donation in the national blood policy and legislative and ethical framework.
* Secure sustainable financing.
* Provide a suitable infrastructure, facilities, and equipment.
* Appoint and train an adequate number of staff and volunteers.
* Implement quality systems.
* Establish a national donor database and information management system.
* Develop an emergency preparedness and response plan.
Strategy 3: Strengthen collaboration and partnerships.
Goal B: Foster a culture of voluntary blood donation.
Strategy 4: Understand your blood donors.
Strategy 5: Identify target blood donor populations.
Strategy6: Develop communication strategies for donor education andcommunity involvement.
Strategy 7: Build partnerships with the media.
Strategy 8: Mobilize community partners and create networks.
Strategy 9: Maximize the impact of World Blood Donor Day and national blood donor events.
Goal C: Build and maintain a safe, sustainable voluntary donor base.
Strategy 10: Educate, motivate, and recruit new blood donors.
Strategy 11: Mobilize youth as a new generation of voluntary blood donors.
Strategy 12: Convert eligible family/replacement donors to voluntary blood donors.
Strategy 13: Recall infrequent, inactive, and temporarily deferred blood donors.
Strategy 14: Retain suitable voluntary blood donors.
Strategy 15: Recognize blood donors’ contribution to society.
Goal D: Provide quality donor service and care.
Strategy 16: Make it convenient for donors to give blood.
Strategy 17: Reach out to donors through mobile donor sessions.
Strategy 18: Assess donors’ suitability to donate blood.
Strategy 19: Provide blood donor counselling.
Strategy 20: Make blood donation a safe and pleasant experience.
Blood transfusion services are vital in the National Health Care Delivery System. Thus, efforts are required to bridge this demand and supply gap toward achieving universal health coverage. In such a scenario, the role of Voluntary blood donation can never be undermined.
Keeping in line with the above-mentioned goals and objectives of the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Department of Transfusion Medicine and Blood Centre at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Vijaypur, Jammu, envisages providing the highest quality of standard patientcare in terms of round-the-clock provision of adequate, safe & quality Blood and blood components and Clinicalapheresis. Thus, catering to all the patients coming to the hospital, both in planned &emergencies, ensures both patient comfort and satisfaction.
Our vision is to be recognized as a center with compassion, respect, integrity, and care forpatients. We aim to save and improve lives in our community with safe and quality blood and innovative cell therapies with evidence-based practice.
(The authors are Assistant Professors of the Department of Transfusion Medicine & Blood Bank at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, AIIMS, Vijaypur, Jammu.)

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