PAHO: Help to save the life of a mother
THE Pan American Health Organisation/World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO) says that more than 15 per cent of maternal deaths in Latin America and the Caribbean are the result of haemorrhaging, saying that the availability of safe blood from voluntary unpaid donors could prevent 670 deaths each year.
“Providing adequate safe blood for transfusion is an essential service for universal health coverage and can help to save millions of lives and improve the health of people in need,” said James Fitzgerald, director of PAHO/WHO’s Health Systems and Services Department. “Safe blood must be waiting for the patient who needs it, and not the patient waiting for blood to save his or her life,” he added.
In its push for more volunteers on World Blood Donor Day this Saturday, PAHO/WHO said maternal mortality not only claims women’s lives, it also affects the well-being of children and families. A mother’s death causes suffering, which can lead to the breakdown of the family and causes reduced opportunities for a motherless child.
It said that its research has shown an inverse relationship between the availability of blood and maternal deaths, where in countries with the lowest availability of blood, maternal mortality is higher.
“Only 12 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean obtain 100 per cent of donations from regular, voluntary unpaid donors, rather than through family and friends. In the past five years, the total number of blood units collected in the region has doubled. However, this increase is uneven across countries and comes mostly from family or replacement donors, which negatively affects blood safety and availability.
“We must double our efforts to improve the availability and access to safe blood and blood components coming 100 per cent from voluntary donors,” said Maria Dolores Perez-Rosales, PAHO/WHO regional advisor on blood services and transplants.
“Giving blood saves lives,” said Perez-Rosales. “We need more people to commit to being regular, unpaid volunteer donors, and we need them to donate more often.”
