Sufficiency and security of national blood suppliesīlood transfusion services face a dual challenge of ensuring both a sufficient supply and the quality and safety of blood and blood products for patients whose lives or wellbeing depend on blood transfusion. 12 While the prevalence of these disorders of haemoglobin is unknown, there is a high requirement for regular transfusion in affected regions, particularly the Mediterranean region, Asia and north Africa.
11 The timely availability of blood at emergency health care facilities is one of the determinants of patient survival.Ībout 300 000 infants are born each year with thalassaemia and sickle-cell disease and need regular blood transfusion. Road traffic injuries are predicted to become the third largest contributor to the global burden of disease by 2020, with an anticipated increase of 65% in road traffic deaths globally and 80% in low and medium HDI countries. Road traffic accidents kill 1.2 million people and injure or disable between 20 million and 50 million more a year, a large proportion of whom require transfusion during the first 24 hours of treatment 90% of deaths occur in developing and transitional countries.
In 2006, there were an estimated 247 million malaria cases among 3.3 billion people at risk, causing nearly a million deaths 91% of malaria deaths were in Africa and 85% were of children under five years of age. In 2008, 109 countries were endemic for malaria, 45 within the WHO African region. 9Ĭhildren are particularly vulnerable to shortages of blood in malarious areas because of their high requirement for transfusion arising from severe life-threatening anaemia resulting from malaria, often exacerbated by malnutrition. Access to safe blood could help to prevent up to one quarter of maternal deaths each year and blood transfusion has been identified as one of the eight life-saving functions that should be available in a first-referral level healthcare facility providing comprehensive emergency obstetric and newborn care. Haemorrhage, for example, accounts for over 25% of the 530 000 maternal deaths each year 99% of these are in the developing world. In countries where diagnostic facilities and treatment options are more limited, the majority of transfusions are prescribed for the treatment of complications during pregnancy and childbirth, severe childhood anaemia, trauma and the management of congenital blood disorders. An increase in ageing populations requiring more medical care has also led to increased requirements for blood. In developed countries with advanced health systems, the demand for blood continues to rise to support increasingly sophisticated medical and surgical procedures, trauma care and the management of blood disorders. National requirements for blood are, in part, determined by the capacity of the country’s health care system and its coverage of the population. About 234 million major operations are performed worldwide every year, with 63 million people undergoing surgery for traumatic injuries, 31 million more for treating cancers and another 10 million for pregnancy-related complications. Surgery, trauma and cancers, for all of which there is a high probability of the need for blood transfusion, are replacing communicable diseases as leading causes of death. Many medical advances that have improved the treatment of serious illness and injuries have increased the need for blood transfusion for patients’ survival, to support them through recovery or to maintain their health.
0 kommentar(er)
