"QUOTES"

Overseas Travel and Bloodless Transfusion Safety

"Health experts around the globe emphasise on screening of donated blood for HIV, hepatitis B & C and Syphilis prior to transfusion, but in 31 countries, including Pakistan, not all donated blood is tested for one or more of these infections."
thenews.com - Pakistan

"The transfusion of infected blood contributes to an ever-widening pool of infection in the population with far-reaching consequences for society as a whole. Prescription of transfusions when simpler, less expensive treatments might be equally effective is a common practice in Pakistan that certainly exposes patients to the needless risk of infections or severe transfusion reactions due to incompatibility of blood groups."
thenews.com - Pakistan

"Less than 25 per cent of blood donations in [India] are voluntary. (70 per cent) is that of replacement donation, mainly from family members or relatives of patients while 10 per cent comprise paid donors."
thenews.com - India

"Doctors should take the donor in confidence and communicate with him to learn about his medical history as great risk is involved in this process."
thenews.com - India

"Studies show that blood donated by altruistic volunteers is much safer than blood donated by paid donors or family and friends of patients who need blood.  Because of chronic shortages of blood in Latin America and the Caribbean, however, most countries depend on family replacement donation for the bulk of their blood supply. Changing this practice is the most important blood safety challenge facing the region today."
Pan American Health Organization

"Every day in Latin America, hospitals tell their patients they must recruit friends and family members to donate blood before the patient undergoes a procedure. The practice, known as family replacement, is considered essential. Unfortunately, like blood from paid donors, blood from family replacement donors is less safe than blood from those who donate for nothing more or less than the general public good."
Pan American Health Organization

"According to the World Health Organization, more than 80 million units of blood are donated every year worldwide. Despite those donations, the majority of the world's population does not have access to a safe and adequate blood supply."
The News-Messenger

"Countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, however, rely heavily on paid and replacement donations."
Pan American Health Organization

"Nevertheless, in the majority of Latin American and Caribbean countries, between 50% and 90% or more of available blood is from replacement donors."
Pan American Health Organization

"Both replacement and paid donors tend to hide risky behaviors from blood bank personnel. Paid donors don't want to hurt their chances of earning some cash, while replacement donors may feel pressure to comply with family requests to give blood but be embarrassed to admit risky behaviors to blood bank personnel. In some cases, families have trouble recruiting donors and end up paying donors with cash. In contrast, voluntary donors whose only motivation is to give the gift of blood have no reason to give false answers to screening questions."
Pan American Health Organization

"Grayson's research… stresses the importance of an open and safe blood policy for all countries to cut the risk of patients contracting other blood borne infections which scientists conclude is not a question of if a new virus emerges but when."
eurekalert.org