ECO-IEST President, Alternative Member to the IPBES Bureau

Human
Resources
Health of the Republic of Azerbaijan for the excellent
arrangements made and the warm hospitality extended
to the delegates.
They also thanked the ECO Secretariat's staff for
their valuable efforts in coordinating the arrangements
of the Meeting.
The Meeting appreciated the offer of the Republic
of Tajikistan to host the 4th Meeting of the ECO
Heads of Blood Transfusion Organizations/Authorities
in 2015 in Dushanbe.
ECO Blood Safety Network
www.ecobsn.com
Networking is one of the most recommended tools for optimization of resources
between countries with limited resources in public health sector. There is no
doubt that a safe and adequate blood supply is an essential part of any given
health system. The safety of blood and blood products remains a continuing cause
for concern, particularly among ECO member states. Most countries in this region
are suffering from the lack of voluntary blood donation and high prevalence rate
of transfusion transmitted infections among blood donors.
To communicate with key stakeholders, in particular, with policy makers, on the
need for blood safety, Iranian Blood Transfusion Organization (IBTO) proposed to
host the 1st Meeting of the Heads of Blood Transfusion of ECO member states on
June 2008 in Tehran, Iran. In this meeting participants were urged to formulate a
regional cooperation network on data banking, training, education and expertise
exchange on transfusion medicine.By the end of 2008, Iranian Blood Transfusion
Organization (IBTO) offered a proposal to establish "ECO Blood Safety Network".
In April 2010, IBTO and ECO signed an agreement to set up the Network.
The aim of the first phase of the Network was to collect, analyze , compare and
update statistics on blood safety and establishing a regional information network
(e-network) in ECO member states in order to identify the shortcomings at regional
level and to suggest recommendations for improvement.
In order to collect the related data, a special questionnaire was designed and
sent to focal points or other related authorities of all Member States for several
times. By the end of 2012, only three countries including Turkey, Afghanistan and
Iran filled the questionnaire. Other information was derived from literature reviewing
and web navigation.
Based on the findings of the report and to address the related challenges, IBTO
organized a three-day workshop on "Voluntary Blood Donor Recruitment" and
"Quality System" (10-12 May 2010). The workshops were very well attended by
the experts from the Member States who discussed two main priorities for the
blood transfusion services of the ECO region.
Finally, in 2012, a comprehensive report on blood safety status in the Member
States was drafted and published after necessary revisions by the countries.
Despite the lack of precise information, the report provides an overview on the
general status of blood safety in this region.The report enables each country to
assess its own situation and monitor its progress in relation to other countries and
also regional trends as well as assisting them to plan research and develop appropriate
strategies to address their needs.
In order to facilitate collaboration among national blood services of the ECO
Member States, an online website was launched in July 2012. The daily updated
website (www.ecobsn.com) contains the latest news, reports and publications from
the Member States regarding blood transfusion & safety.
Filling the related questionnaire online in English and Russian is available on this
website.
Member states are encouraged to forward their updated news, reports and publications
to the intl@ibto.ir.
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