Every year on 14 June, the African Region joins the global community to commemorate World Blood Donor Day. This year’s theme entitled “Thank you for saving my life” aims to increase awareness about why timely access to safe blood and blood products is essential for all countries and encourages blood donors to donate freely and often.
World Blood Donor Day activities are integral to ensure safe, quality blood and blood products are available when patients need them most. Blood transfusion plays an essential role in the provision of health care, particularly among the vulnerable people such as women suffering from haemorrhage during or after childbirth, children suffering from severe anaemia due to malaria and malnutrition, victims of trauma and accidents as well as patients suffering from sickle cell disease.
Although countries in the African Region have made progress in collection of blood, the number of blood donations remains low in the Region. In 2013, blood donations was about 3.9 million units which only cover about 50% of annual blood and blood products required by countries. Currently, the national blood supplies in 24 countries are based on 80 to 100% voluntary unpaid blood donations.
The insufficiency of blood donations is often due to the lack of adequate infrastructure and limited qualified health workers and communication difficulties that hamper the organization of blood collection. Donating blood is a selfless, noble gesture that gives back life and hope to patients. I express my gratitude to each blood donor for their regular blood donation and thank blood donor associations and nongovernmental organizations which are working tirelessly to make safe blood available in healthcare facilities throughout the Region.
As we commemorate the World Blood Donor Day, I call upon everyone in the Region to emulate the selfless gesture of blood donors and donate blood to ensure that there is adequate supply in health facilities. I encourage national health authorities to support the development and implementation of policies to attain self‐sufficiency in safe blood and blood products.
The WHO Regional Office for Africa will continue to support countries and all appropriate initiatives aimed at improving access to safe blood and blood products to save lives of patients in need in the African Region.
Thank you.