14 Jun 2020

 Botswana’s only blood specialist, Dr Datta Dharmadhikari says transfusion of blood and blood products helps save millions of lives every year.

In a statement he delivered on the eve of World Blood Donor Day yesterday, Dr Datta, who is a blood consultant at Bokamoso Private Hospital, said blood donation could help patients suffering from life threatening conditions such as cancer, adding that transfusion of blood was supportive in complex medical and surgical procedures.

 “It has a life-saving role in maternal and peri-natal care and trauma. Blood and blood products transfused should be safe and devoid of transfusion transmitted infections,” he said.

Dr Datta also said the need for safe blood was universal and that in many developing countries, there was inadequate supply of safe blood. “Blood services face the challenge of having sufficient safe blood and blood products,” he said.

Dr Datta also said safe blood supplies were a scare commodity in developing countries, adding that despite 92 million blood donations worldwide every year, safe blood was in high demand.

He noted that adequate supply of safe blood and blood products could be assured through regular donations by unpaid blood donors, adding that the goal of the World Health Organisation (WHO) was for all countries to obtain all their blood needs from voluntary donors by this year.

Dr Datta also noted that World Blood Donor Day was celebrated to bring attention to how critical blood donors were in saving lives.

He said the United Nations and WHO declared June 14 as Blood Donor Day in 2004 in order to recognise and thank blood donors all over the world.

“WHO Blood Donor Day is one of only eight WHO observance days that shine the spotlight on crucial needs in the global health care. It occurs on June 14, the birthday of Karls Landsceiner, the creator of the ABO blood group system for which he won the Nobel Prize,” said Dr Datta

He said WHO’s objectives of this year’s campaign were to celebrate and thank donors as well as encouraging more people to start donating. He said another objective was to raise awareness on the urgent need to increase the availability of safe blood for use wherever and whenever it was needed.

The other objectives, he said, were to demonstrate the need for universal access to safe blood transfusion and to provide advocacy on its role in the provision of effective health care, and in achieving universal health coverage as well as to mobilise support at national, regional and global levels among governments and development partners to invest in, strengthen and sustain national blood programmes.

 On COVID-19, Dr Datta said the infection was not transmissible due to blood transfusion. He urged healthy donors to donate blood. “Blood donation is safe using social norms and preventive measures for COVID-19,” he said.

 Dr Datta specialises in blood diseases and is a member of Haemophilia Society and the South Africa Society of Thrombosis and Haemostasis. He was previously attached to the National Blood Transfusion Services of the Ministry of Health and Wellness. ENDS