Transfusion in developing countries

Question 1

What are the challenges to transfusions in low income countries?

Answer 1

SIgnificantly lower number of donations (it is 9x greater in high income countries than low income)
Facilities are different - less equipment, safety of equipment etc
Not all countries are able to screen the infections
Testing may not be as reliable
Irregular supply of test kits
Staff shortages
Poor quality test kits
Lack of back quality in labs
Lack of allocated budget

Question 2

Who in low income countries uses the blood donated?

Answer 2

65% go to young children (<5), mothers during complicated delivery, trauma related injuries

Question 3

What are the problems with recruiting donors in africa?

Answer 3

Poor donor pool- 20% of recruits are positive for blood borne infection in africa
Financial - expectation of reward, decreased altruistic values

Question 4

Why is poor technology and economy making transfusion harder in Africa?

Answer 4

Technology is needed to have a reliable database about donors - need traceability about who has donated what - automated control of blood testing - communication between transfusion centres

Financial - needed for donor recruiting and campaigning, good quality equipment for testing and processing, staff costs