"Blood transfusion is a life-saving intervention that has an essential role in patient management within health care systems. All Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO) endorsed World Health Assembly resolutions WHA28.72 (1) in 1975 and WHA58.13 (2) in 2005. These commit them to the provision of adequate supplies of safe blood and blood products that are accessible to all patients who require transfusion either to save their lives or promote their continuing or improving health." --Preface.
The WHO guidelines on assessing donor suitability for blood donation have been developed to assist blood transfusion services in countries that are establishing or strengthening national systems for the selection of blood donors. They are designed for use by policy makers in national blood programmes in ministries of health, national advisory bodies such as national blood commissions or councils, and blood transfusion services.
This guidance document has been produced by the World Health Organization (WHO) to assist blood services in the development of national plans to respond to any disaster, major incident or emergency that threatens sufficiency or safety of the blood supply. Such situations can be caused by natural forces, by factors influenced by humans or directly caused by humans. This document is intended to guide the national blood service through the process of planning how to respond in a timely, controlled and appropriate way to emergencies. In the preparation of the document, WHO has tried to include the elements that blood services or providers might need to consider, providing some background on the reasons for their inclusion and guidance on different response options that may be available. The consequences of an emergency may include interruption of blood supply due to a shortage of blood donors, or to a disrupted supply of critical materials and equipment used in blood collection, component preparation and laboratory testing, resulting in reduced availability of blood and blood components. Although the demand for transfusion may decrease in some situations, transfusions continue to be necessary for clinical emergencies and for those patients reliant on long-term transfusion support. In contrast, some emergencies, for instance those resulting in multiple casualties, could lead to a rapid surge in demand for blood over a short time. The challenge is to maintain essential transfusion services as well as responding to the emergency. Preparedness, including business continuity planning, is essential for blood services to mitigate the impact of emergencies. Preparation should be underpinned by locally sensitive risk assessment using relevant data at the local or country level. However, it is not possible to predict the nature of every situation that could impact on the blood supply, and it is therefore expected that blood services will review the elements in this document as well as assessing their own situation, needs, capabilities and resources, along with any additional relevant country-specific factors, in the development of their own response plans. Planning should consider the concurrence and combinations of events and the response should be proportionate and coordinated with others. The aim is to maintain critical services and prepare for recovery. Staff training and support is key to resilience. It is acknowledged that as well as affecting the sufficiency and safety of blood supply, major incidents in countries undertaking transplantation may threaten the safety and sufficiency of the supply of other products of human origin, such as cells, tissues and organs. Increasingly, blood services are taking overall national responsibility for transplantation in their capacity as the organization responsible for the collection, processing, storage and supply of cells, tissues and organs. This approach is both sensible and appropriate, as the overall donor selection and screening processes are the same or very similar. This guidance document can therefore also be used to assist those bodies responsible for the provision of cells, tissues and organs to prepare for emergencies. Resilience to disasters and emergencies requires a commitment to the blood supply and transfusion system as an integral part of the health care system.
During the early years of the AIDS epidemic, thousands of Americans became infected with HIV through the nation's blood supply. Because little reliable information existed at the time AIDS first began showing up in hemophiliacs and in others who had received transfusions, experts disagreed about whether blood and blood products could transmit the disease. During this period of great uncertainty, decision-making regarding the blood supply became increasingly difficult and fraught with risk. This volume provides a balanced inquiry into the blood safety controversy, which involves private sexual practices, personal tragedy for the victims of HIV/AIDS, and public confidence in America's blood services system. The book focuses on critical decisions as information about the danger to the blood supply emerged. The committee draws conclusions about what was doneâ€"and recommends what should be done to produce better outcomes in the face of future threats to blood safety. The committee frames its analysis around four critical area: Product treatmentâ€"Could effective methods for inactivating HIV in blood have been introduced sooner? Donor screening and referralâ€"including a review of screening to exlude high-risk individuals. Regulations and recall of contaminated bloodâ€"analyzing decisions by federal agencies and the private sector. Risk communicationâ€"examining whether infections could have been averted by better communication of the risks.
Meant to aid State & local emergency managers in their efforts to develop & maintain a viable all-hazard emergency operations plan. This guide clarifies the preparedness, response, & short-term recovery planning elements that warrant inclusion in emergency operations plans. It offers the best judgment & recommendations on how to deal with the entire planning process -- from forming a planning team to writing the plan. Specific topics of discussion include: preliminary considerations, the planning process, emergency operations plan format, basic plan content, functional annex content, hazard-unique planning, & linking Federal & State operations.
Design Guidelines for Blood Centreswill serve as a tool for authorities responsible for developing building centers to house blood transfusion services. These guidelines were prepared to assist countries in developing appropriate, purpose-built facilities for blood services. They may be used to guide the design of new buildings, to direct the renovation of existing facilities or even to improve work patterns by considering the layout in established facilities.
