Safe Blood Starts with Me - libdoc.who.int - World Health Organization

Minister, Members of the NationalAssembly, WHO and NGOs. Ofparticular note was the presenceof Jehovah Witnesses at the event.Modernization of NationalBlood CentreAt the opening ceremony, MrsEsperanza B. de Morales,President of the NRC, underlinedthe promise of the Organization tocontinue to strive to develop thenational Blood Programme basedon voluntary, non-remuneratedblood donation. This was also theideal occasion to announce therestructuring and refurbishing ofthe National Blood Centre, fundedby the American Red Cross.National ForumRitha Fletes, President of theHealth Commission at the NationalAssembly, announced the creationof a National Forum to discuss thedraft bill on transfusion safetywith the different sectorsconcerned with the issue. The newPAHO/WHO Representative inNicaragua, Dr Patricio Rojas,assured participants of WHO’stechnical and financial assistancein strengthening blood banks inthe country. The representative ofthe Minister of Health said that, inconjunction with the NRC, theywould promote the development ofappropriate policies to improveblood banks in the country.WorkshopsOn the first day of the Congress,practical workshops took place onthe promotion of voluntary blooddonation, the selection of donorsand special studies onimmunohaematology. In addition,participants in the DistanceLearning Programme on SafeBlood and Blood Products hadtheir fourth meeting. A total of 55people participated in thesesimultaneous workshops.All participants expressedtheir gratitude to thehumanitarian actions ofvoluntary blood donorsConferencesOn day two and three of theCongress, major conferencesfocused on topics related to theModernization of Blood Banks, e.g.transfusion risks, serologicalstudies, quality controls, nationalstrategic plan on HIV/AIDS, viralhepatitis, molecular biology inblood banks, etc. The objectivewas to address the most urgentlearning needs inimmunohaematology.All invited lecturers were eminentprofessionals in their fieldinternationally. These included DrJosé Ramiro Cruz from PAHO inWashington, Dr BenjaminLichtiger from the UTMDAnderson Cancer Centre, DrGraciela León from the MunicipalBlood Bank in Venezuela (picturedfrom right to left in the officialphotograph), and Drs KirsténVisoná and Dr Lizeth Taylor of theLSU-ICMRT Costa Rica. Lecturersalso included national specialistsin transfusion medicine, whocovered various issues ofparticular relevance to bloodsafety in Nicaragua.The event was a success both fromthe organizational perspective, aswell as the attendance, quality ofpresentations, educationalmaterial available and theexchange of experiences betweenparticipants during all the variousactivities.Rhesus Negative ReunionAnother event that took placewithin the framework of WorldHealth Day celebrations was theFirst Meeting of Rhesus NegativeVoluntary Blood Donors. This wasorganized jointly between theNicaraguan Red Cross and thePanamerican Health Organizationon 7 April for 150 rhesus negativeblood donors. The Minister ofHealth, the President of the RedCross, the PAHO/WHORepresentative and the Presidentof the Commission on Health andWell-being were among the invitedguests at the occasion. Allparticipants recognized andexpressed their gratitude to thehumanitarian actions of voluntaryblood donors.46 ▲ WORLD HEALTH DAY ▼ SAFE BLOOD STARTS WITH ME