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

publicly recognized with diplomasof merit and a pin, representing asimple, single drop of blood. A bustrip took participants to theoutskirts of Bucharest for a welldeservedpicnic.Romanian Red CrossRepresentatives of the RomanianRed Cross were active at thecommunity level in a campaign toattract and educate voluntaryblood donors, armed with theinformation kit produced by WHO.Beyond World Health DayA series of activities wereprogrammed to ensure that bloodsafety remained a priority wellbeyond World Health Day, 7 April2000.Educating blood donorsLeaflets on blood donation andtransfusion will be distributed atall blood donation sites.Videotapes presenting the bloodtransfusion chain as well asapheresis collection procedureswill be available for donorinformation. Extensive work isunderway to improve existingfacilities so that blood collectiontakes place in a pleasantatmosphere, in convenientsurroundings and under thesupervision of attentive staff.Regular blood donorrecognitionActivities to publicly recognizedonors will continue. Sustainedadvocacy and active education willbe focused on moral awareness,the notion of solidarity betweenindividuals and a sense of socialpride, in order to increase thenumber and commitment ofexisting and potential blooddonors.Increasing public awarenessand informationMass media support is vital to getclear and updated information tothe public on what blood safetymeans. National Television isBlood Transfusion CentreProduction Unitpreparing a hands-on tape showingthe steps involved in blooddonation. Two panel discussionsdedicated to blood transfusionhave already been presented.Given the impact of the radioprogramme on World Health Day,several radio stations arecollaborating in a plan to continuelive broadcasts on blood safetyand low-risk donors to generate anactive dialogue with immediateimpact. Major journals willpublish short information textsunderlining the importance ofvoluntary regular blood donation,quality management and theoptimum use of blood.Activities in schools and the workplace will be carried out inparallel to the media campaign. Aseries of health educationconferences is already underwayto explain the basic notionsrelated to viral transmissibledisease, the significance andnecessity of voluntary blooddonation and low-risk donors.Leaflets, booklets and posterscontaining information on blooddonation and transfusion will becrafted from both localexperiences and data from theWHO information kit.Transfusion medicine coursefor Blood Transfusion Servicestaff and cliniciansContinuous training programmeshave now been organized on amodular basis to enablespecialists to focus on theirparticular field of interest.Transfusion medicine courses andworkshops on the clinical use ofblood, targeting clinicians andgeneral practitioners, are madeavailable periodically by theNational Institute of TransfusionHaematology.76 ▲ WORLD HEALTH DAY ▼ SAFE BLOOD STARTS WITH ME