The reason for this is that there is a lack of government commitment and suppport. And this also brings with it the adequate budget, the trained staff and all the requisites that one requires in the form of buildings and staff and so on. HIV has raised an awareness not only on ethical issues but also on safety issues for those who are receiving blood. This year s theme is all-embracing Safe blood starts with me . This does very well express why WHO and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies work together.
Transfusion is a vector of altruism in society.
Well, globally we estimate that 75 million units of blood are donated each year . We figure out that at least 13 million units of blood donated each year are not tested for the main transmissible viruses. The residual risk for HIV transmission by transfusion in developed countries is around or less than 1 over a million, which is definitely a very small risk by any standards. Transmissible infections by transfusions of blood borne pathogens is one issue. The experience of the WHO team identifies very clearly the conditions to have a safe, reliable transfusion service.