Give blood for those who give life. Safe blood for saving mothers.

World Blood Donor Day (WBDD) was celebrated across the globe on 14 June 2014, with the theme "Give blood for thos who give life. Safe blood for saving mothers". Every day, about 800 women die from pregnancy or childbirth-related complications. Severe bleeding during delivery and after childbirth is a major cause of mortality, morbidity and long-term disability. The goal of the World Blood Donor Day 2014 campaign is to increase awareness about why timely access to safe blood and blood products is essential for all countries as part of a comprehensive approach to prevent maternal deaths.

In Ethiopia, the campaign kicked off on 13 June 2014 with a Press Conference at the National Blood Bank Service in Addis Ababa with the same theme, and will continue until 20 July in a series of celebratory activities.  Challenges in the Ethiopian context, and achievements so far relating to blood safety, voluntary blood donation and its impact on maternal survival were discussed with members of the Media present at the Conference. It was underscored that ensuring availability of safe blood at all health facilities would contribute to Ethiopia’s efforts to meet MDG 5 relating to the reduction of maternal deaths by ensuring that the lives of expecting mothers will not be endangered in case of emergencies for lack of blood for life-saving transfusion. 

Highlights of the Campaign
On 14 June, the WBDD celebrations commenced by launching a week-long blood drive on the Ethio-Cuban Square in front of the Post Office in Addis Ababa, where blood was collected from volunteer blood donors. On 5–7 July, another blood drive will be held on the same spot. 

On 13 July, a 1.5 km Walk for Blood will take place from Cuban Square to Zewditu Hospital, and on 20 July, a meeting will be held with regular blood donors. The regular blood donors will be honored during the meeting in the presence of high level representatives from WHO, the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

WHO has been providing technical assistance and support to expand and consolidate the blood safety programme so as to establish efficient and sustainable national blood transfusion services that can assure the quality, safety and adequacy of blood and blood products to meet the needs of deserving patients since 2004. A comprehensive situation analysis was done, standards, guidelines, blood policy and plan and provision of technical support to its implementation has been provided by WHO through the years. Since 2010, WHO supported the restructuring of the blood transfusion services through establishment of the National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS) under the FMoH as well as transitioning of services from the Ethiopian Red Cross Society (ERCS) to the FMoH. A total of 25 blood banks have been established to cover the transfusion needs of hospitals within 100km radius, thus improving access to the service.

WHO has, over the years, conducted several trainings; for example, 206 newly recruited blood bank staff were trained in a number of workshops across the country in 2013, enabling the FMoH and RHBs to establish services in 12 new blood banks. At the end of the year, the National Blood Transfusion Service was awarded the title of Best Performing Directorate of the FMoH in the Ministry’s internal balanced score card evaluation of the last six months of 2013. WHO support to the FMoH is funded by the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Every year, World Blood Donors Day is celebrated on 14 June, the birthday of Dr Karl Landsteiner (14 June 1868 – 26 June 1943) who discovered the human ABO blood group system, paving way for successful transfusions. [It is notable that Dr Landsteiner also discovered the polio virus in 1909 with Constantin Levaditi and Erwin Popper.]

For more information, please contact Dr Yohannes Kebede Haile, Blood Safety Programme Coordinator, WHO Ethiopia; email: yohannesk [at] who.int

PHOTOS: WHO Ethiopia/ Julie Pudlowski & Loza Mesfin Tesfaye