A voluntary blood donor organisation can be critical in ensuring that there is sufficient blood supply. The goal of securing a sufficient number of voluntary, non-remunerated blood donors has not yet been achieved in Bangladesh.

Someone who is seriously ill needs blood transfusion. It may be a newborn, a child, an adult involved in road traffic accident, a woman with bleeding during delivery or an elderly person with refractory anaemia. Very often we assume that the transfusion of blood or its components will be available in the hospitals. But we forget that the blood cannot be manufactured by a machine.

There is a dire need of safe blood in the country and it is achievable if we all play our role and all people in good health

decide to join forces with the family of voluntary blood donors. So, there is urgent need for appropriate strategies that will help not only sufficient quantities of blood but safe too.

Safe blood is the blood which does no harm to the person who receives it. Blood can be life saving, but it may cause serious illness or even death to the recipient at the same time if any infection is present in the donor's blood that can be transmitted by blood transfusion. Infections that can be transmitted by blood transfusion include HIV which leads to AIDS, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Syphilis and Malaria. Therefore, to ensure that the blood unit is safe it should be tested for the above mentioned diseases. The key to success is safe blood donor selection who have a healthy life style.

Blood can be donated by

people who are healthy and do not have an infection that can be transmitted through their blood. Healthy adults can give blood regularly. Men can give blood every 3 months and women can give blood every four months.

World blood donor day is June 14th and this is being celebrated every year world wide with the aim of spreading the message that having volunteers who are willing to give blood regularly, for no payment, is the best possible way of ensuring a safe blood supply. The concept behind the day is that it would be developed, year by year to encourage a better understanding of the need for blood.

So, friends let us donate the “gift of life” and do not lag behind other countries.

Dr Dipika Mohanty, MD, PhD, FACP(USA), FNAMS, FRCP (UK) is a Senior Consultant Heamatologist of Apollo Hospitals Dhaka.