14 June 2014, Gymkhana Club Ground, Zomba: The Malawi Blood Transfusion Services (MBTS Trust) on 14 June 2014, led all partners and Malawians in commemorating the World Blood Donor Day. The ceremony was held at Gymkhana Club ground in Zomba. The theme this year “Safe blood for saving mothers” focused on raising people’s awareness about the critical need for safe blood and blood products to be available for everyone, but especially for women suffering from severe bleeding during delivery or after childbirth. Among the dignitaries that attended were the Secretary for Health, Mr Chris Kang’ombe as the Guest of Honor, The WHO Representative, Dr Eugene Nyarko and the Chairperson of the Board of Malawi Blood Transfusion Services (MBTS), Justice Anastasia Msosa.

Speaking at the function the Guest of Honour, Mr Chris Kang’ombe said that the government has supported the availability of safe blood and blood products as reflected through budgetary support to MBTS; the development and dissemination of the national blood policy and capacity building for blood safety and quality transfusion services. “The country still falls short of collecting adequate blood currently at 80,000 units per annum nationally. It is for this reason that additional effort is required so that the national target is met. In this way mothers and children’s lives are saved,” the Secretary for Health said. He went on to say that since the only source of blood is the human being it is important that the Malawians understand and participate in the efforts collecting blood to achieve the target of 80,000 liters of blood per annum. “Blood and blood products cannot be manufactured in a factory like all other drugs. We need to join hands to achieve the Malawi target,” Mr Kang’ombe said. 

Speaking at the function, the WHO Representative, Dr Eugene Nyarko underscored the importance of the theme against the background that one out of 38 women die from pregnancy-related complications compared to one out of 3,700 in other parts of the world. In view of this he encouraged the national and international partners working on blood transfusion and maternal health to develop an activity plan to highlight the need for timely access to safe blood and blood products in the prevention of maternal deaths. “Blood transfusion saves lives and improves health, but many patients requiring transfusion do not have timely access to safe blood. Providing safe and adequate blood should be an integral part of every country’s national health care policy and infrastructure,” Dr Eugene Nyarko, the WHO Resident Representative said.

He went on to say that this year’s theme was reminding the general public that adequate and reliable supply of safe blood can be assured by a stable base of regular, voluntary, unpaid blood donors. “Regular, voluntary, unpaid blood donors are also the safest group of donors as the prevalence of blood borne infections is lowest among them,” Dr Nyako said. Collecting blood by voluntary unpaid donations through well-organized donor recruitment systems has been shown to be safer, more effective and more efficient than hospital-based family or replacement donations. “It is important to note that during the past decade, significant progress has been made in improving the availability and safety of blood in the African Region,” he said. 

WHO also recommends that all activities related to blood collection, testing, processing, storage and distribution be coordinated at the national level through effective organization and a national blood policy. This should be supported by appropriate legislation to promote uniform implementation of standards and consistency in the quality and safety of blood and blood products.

In addition to the speeches from the Guests of Honour, the function was accentuated by drama shows, traditional dances, poems by school pupils, and physical fitness displays by the Malawi Defense Force. The Malawi Blood Transfusion Service presented displays of the process of collecting blood from voluntary unpaid donors. Some of the volunteers were presented with gifts after they went through a raffle draw for blood donors.

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01 Colby barracks received best institution award on blood donors
02 Voluntary donor receiving a gift after a raffle draw
03 Traditional dances
04 At the function there were voluntary unpaid blood donors who donated blood on the day (1) 
05 At the function there were voluntary unpaid blood donors who donated blood on the day (2)
06 Dr Eugene Nyarko (WR) speaking to the audience in Zomba at Gynkhana Club Ground