Universal access to safe blood and blood products for transfusion

Millions of lives are saved each year through blood transfusions. In many countries, however, people still die due to an inadequate supply of blood and blood products. 14 June 2010 World Blood Donor Day 2010

Report global consultation 2009 [pdf 320kb] WHO Guidelines on Pandemic Influenza and Blood Safety [pdf 58kb]

This has a particular impact on women
(as a consequence of pregnancy-related complications), children (malnutrition, malaria and severe life-threatening anaemia), trauma victims and, especially, the poor and disadvantaged.

The emergence of HIV in the 1980s highlighted the importance of ensuring the safety, as well as the adequacy, of national blood supplies. In many countries, even where blood is available, many recipients remain at risk of transfusion-transmissible infections (TTIs) as a result of poor blood donor recruitment and selection practices and the use of untested units of blood.

Every country has a common need to ensure:

• Availability of adequate supplies of blood and blood products and their accessibility to all patients requiring transfusion;
• Safety of blood and blood products;
• Safe and appropriate clinical use of blood and blood products.

The WHO Blood Transfusion Safety (BTS) team supports the establishment of sustainable of national blood programmes that can ensure the provision of safe, high quality blood and blood products that are accessible to all patients requiring transfusion and their safe and appropriate use. In support of this mission, the WHO BTS team recommends the following integrated strategy to national health authorities:

• Establishment of a well-organized, nationally coordinated blood transfusion service that can provide adequate and timely supplies of safe blood for all patients in need;

• Collection of blood only from voluntary unpaid blood donors at low risk of acquiring transfusion-transmissible infections, and stringent blood donor selection criteria;

• Testing of all donated blood for transfusion-transmissible infections, blood groups and compatibility;

• Production of blood components to maximize the use of donated blood and enable the provision of therapeutic support for patients with special transfusion requirements;

• Appropriate clinical use of blood and the use of alternatives, where possible, to minimize unnecessary transfusions;

• Safe transfusion practice at the bedside;

• Comprehensive quality system covering the entire transfusion process, from donor recruitment to the follow-up of recipients of transfusion.

Related Information

:: World Health Assembly and Executive Board Resolutions on Blood Safety and Availability

Related links

Blood Safety in the WHO Regional Office for: