Features
Safe blood: keeping the nation’s heart beating
World Blood Donor Day falls tomorrow under the banner, ‘Give blood and keep the world-beating’.
Sri Lankan blood donors have put the country on the world map as one of the very few countries which has achieved a 100% voluntary, unremunerated blood donor base. This is the realization of the National Blood Transfusion Service’s (NBTS) vision of becoming a ‘unique model for the world securing quality assured blood services through a nationally coordinated system.’ NBTS is the only autonomous state run blood transfusion service in South Asia to be conferred a WHO Collaborating Centre which has emerged a regional centre of excellence today. NBTS is also a member of the two leading international bodies- International Society of Blood Transfusion (ISBT) and the Asian Association of Transfusion Medicine (AATM). This ‘lifeline’ of our health sector continues to offer a new lease of life to many despite challenging times.
by Randima Attygalle
The first major incident of blood transfusion in the country took place in 1959 when surgery was performed on the late Prime Minister S.W.R.D Bandaranaike who was shot. The public awareness on blood transfusion was made following this unfortunate incident when as appeal was made to the public to donate blood for the late Premier’s surgery. Back then the Blood Bank was only a single room located near the surgical unit of the General Hospital Colombo (present National Hospital of Sri Lanka). In 1960 it was shifted to the building opposite the Faculty of Medicine. It was an era of using sterilized glass bottles for collection which were reused by the service. A donor was paid ten rupees per donation and the blood was screened only for malaria and syphilis. In 1962 the first regional blood bank was established at the General Hospital, Galle. Today the National Blood Centre is headquartered in Narahenpita consisting of 105 hospitals affiliated to 25 cluster centres.
The centrally coordinated national blood transfusion service with its 105 affiliated blood banks across the country stands above many regional counterparts with their ‘fragmented systems’. This is aligned with the WHO recommendation that ‘all activities related to blood collection, testing, processing, storage and distribution be coordinated at the national level through effective organization and integrated blood supply networks.’ Unlike a system where blood is collected in fragments or 
NBTS also adheres to ‘Hemovigilance’ which is a set of surveillance procedures covering the entire transfusion chain from the collection of blood and its components to the follow up of its recipients, intended to collect and access information on unexpected or undesirable effects resulting from the therapeutic use of labile blood products. “A mismatched blood transfusion could be fatal. Hemovigilance help assure optimum quality and safety with minimum mishaps,” explains Dr. Edirisinghe.
The ‘crisis situation’ which the NBTS ran into prior to Vesak Poya last month, when the stocks were very low, (due to travel restrictions), was reversed within a few days thanks to the donors who responded to the appeal says the NBTS Director. The local annual requirement is around 450,000 units of blood out of which the daily requirement is around 1,000 to 1,200 RCC (red cell concentrates) units. NBTS strives to assure a national repository level of 12,000 to 13,000 RCC stock. “A RCC stock of about 12,000 units is required and during the pandemic surges these stocks came down drastically due to affected collection which is far below the numbers of continued patient issues. However, thanks to the donors who quickly responded to our appeal, we managed to completely reverse the situation,” notes Dr. Edirisinghe. The challenge now is to control the blood collection just adequate to satisfy the current demand, minimizing wastage as the shelf-life of RCCs is 35 to 42 days, he says. “In addition, there is a daily need of platelets; about 450 units at present. Since they cannot be stored for more than five to six days, blood collections should be maintained at least every two to three days. Thus the usual pattern of organizing mobile blood campaigns during week-ends and public holidays should be strengthened with week day collections, especially with in-house donations on appointment basis with the on-line donor pre-registration system of the National Blood Transfusion Service website.” (www.nbts.health)
Nearly 120 million units of blood are donated globally every year according to the WHO. Blood transfusions are needed for a wide range of health conditions including anaemia, complications during pregnancy and childbirth, severe trauma due to accidents, and surgical procedures. They are also regularly used for patients with conditions such as thalassaemia and for blood components to treat bleeding conditions associated with many diseases. The baseline requirement for blood transfusion has now taken a new dimension points out Dr. Edirisinghe. While road accidents, routine and emergency surgeries require the highest volume of blood transfusions, even during a lockdown or with travel restrictions a baseline requirement of 800 RCC units needs to be maintained for thalassaemia and cancer patients whose life expectancy is now extended. Blood transfusions are also needed for those with Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) today.
Realizing a base of 100% voluntary unremunerated donors has enabled us to do away with replacement donors. “The ‘giving culture’ of our nation has undoubtedly played a significant role apart from other contributory factors such as having repetitive blood donors and a centrally coordinated system in place,” remarks Dr. Edirisinghe. Regular donors, is an international indicator in blood transfusion which enables quality assured blood. As the WHO notes, ‘an adequate and reliable supply of safe blood can be assured by a stable base of regular, voluntary, unpaid blood donors. These donors are also the safest group of donors as the prevalence of blood-borne infections is lowest among this group.’
Once blood is collected, samples are screened for diseases which are transmitted by blood. Regular donors Dr. Edirisinghe explains, can help improve the safety of donations. Moreover, regular donors very often become organizers of blood donation campaigns which is a bonus factor he says. In addition to the usual screening process, an additional screening tool is now in place to assess donors of the COVID risk. “Those who have either COVID-like or influenza like symptoms, people coming from households with COVID positive patients, those whose PCR or antigen test results are pending are not eligible to become donors. People who have returned from foreign countries in the last three months or those who hope to travel out of the country in the next three months are also not eligible to donate blood,” says the NBTS Director who urges all donors to be responsible and transparent in their disclosure of information.
Despite these temporary limitations, COVID patients, after 28 days from complete recovery are eligible to donate blood, provided they fulfill other criteria. “COVID is not proven so far as to be transmitted through blood or a blood product, therefore those who have recovered have no restrictions in donating blood. In fact, plasma, a blood component prepared from a blood donation is a treatment modality for some COVID patients, which is now underway at NBTS,” explains the physician.
Certain criteria needs to be fulfilled to qualify as a blood donor. A donor needs to be between 18 and 60 years with a hemoglobin level of more than 12.5 g/dL. They should also be free of any non-communicable disease (NCD) including high blood pressure, cardiac disease and cancer. Insulin-dependent diabetic patients also disqualify as donors. “Those with NCDs are disqualified not because their blood is of inferior quality, but because there is a health risk for them when physiological changes occur due to sudden volume depletion in their blood levels following a donation,” explains Dr. Edirisinghe. People with HIV or any other sexually transmitted diseases including Syphilis and those who have ever had Hepatitis B and C are disqualified to be donors. People who have tattooed themselves are also disqualified to donate blood for a year since it involves needle-piercing.
The enthusiasm of the young blood donors (between 18 and 25) is very heartening remarks the physician who encourages the young population of the country to be healthy, free from NCDs as only the healthy can become regular blood donors. He also dispels several myths surrounding blood donation. “Donating blood can make a person obese, it makes the immune system weak and vegetarians cannot donate blood are some of the common myths which need to be debunked. A healthy person can also donate blood up to three times per year (with intervals of four months).”
Thanking all donors who have contributed to the success story of NBTS of the country, its Director encourages regular donors and first-timers to make use of the pre-booking system which was introduced via the NBTS hotline (011-5332153/011-5332154) and the NBTS website (http://nbts.health) during the lockdown as means of mitigating overcrowding during the pandemic. Pre- booking (as opposed to standard walk-in donations) helps NBTS to arrange for donors to visit a centre close to their home or workplace during this pandemic sparing them of the hassle of visiting its headquarters.