Blood donation in Bangladesh is an activity conducted by several different organisations. As of 2011 [update] , about 25% of the nation's blood supply came from voluntary donation, 20–25% from paid donors, and 50–55% from one-time donation for a specific patient.
Blood transfusion service became available in Bangladesh at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital in 1950. [1] Professional blood donors were the mainstay of blood donation in Bangladesh, with 47% of donated blood coming from professional donors as late as the year 2000. [1] The potential for contamination in the supply, and the need for volunteer donors was well recognised. [1] An estimate from 2011 is that of the 500,000 units of blood required annually, only 25% come from voluntary donation, 20–25% from paid donors, and 50–55% from one-time donation for a specific patient. [2]
Medicine Club is a non-profit humanitarian organization in Bangladesh volunteered by medical and dental students. [3] The organization was founded on 31 January 1981, at Mymensingh Medical College [3] with the intention of helping the helpless and serving humanity. Now it has 21 units in different medical & dental colleges. [3] It has since broadened its scope to include voluntary blood donating, prevent Thalassaemia [4] throughout Bangladesh & rise awareness about this. It contributes a large amount of donated blood throughout Bangladesh. [5] It also helps poor patients by donating money and drugs. [6] This organization also distributes vaccines. [7]
The first voluntary blood donation program in Bangladesh was begun in 1977 at Dhaka Medical College, and was organized by SANDHANI. [8] SANDHANI has now 25 units in different medical and dental colleges. [9] SANDHANI is a voluntary institution run by the medical and dental students of BANGLADESH. It is mainly working on motivation on voluntary blood donation and posthumous eye donation in Bangladesh. SANDHANI is also working for the helpless patient in the community by serving them with drug from the drug bank, donating blood to the thalassaemia patient, giving relief to the flooded and disaster affected people etc. [10]
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement began a blood program in Bangladesh in 1981. [11] Today they operate several centres, using both whole blood and fractionated blood components. [11]
A 1997 survey of students at the University of Dhaka had found a generally favourable attitude towards voluntary blood donation, and an overwhelmingly unfavourable attitude to paid blood donation, and recommended that a campaign should be started immediately to increase awareness and participation in voluntary blood donation among the student population. [12]
Badhan is a non-political voluntary blood donors' organisation in Bangladesh that was established in 1997. [13] Badhan's first activity was a free blood-group testing program that took place on 24 October 1997 at Shahidullah Hall of the University of Dhaka. [13] Shahidullah Hall is very close to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital, and before that time people needing blood for patients would gather regularly in or near the hall gate, seeking help. [13] Mohammad Shahidul Islam Ripon was the principal originator of the program, along with other students. [14]
The blood provided is fresh rather than stored, [14] using a database of people whose blood type has been previously established. The graduate- and postgraduate-level students of Bangladeshi universities and postgraduate colleges are the main participants of the organisation. [13] The organisation is active in 14 universities and 29 university colleges. [14]
Other activities include raising awareness about donating fresh blood, donating blood voluntarily for patients and helping poor people in time of natural disasters. [15]
Financing comes primarily from individual members and ex-members, as well as from the universities and colleges administration, from donations. [14] The California non-profit organisation SpaandanB has been a significant contributor from outside Bangladesh. [16] Badhan wants to make blood donation as a social movement. Its ultimate goals are (a) none should die from lack of blood, (b) every person knows his/her blood group. The head office of Badhan is located on the ground floor of TSC, Dhaka University.[ citation needed ]
Charpoka Blood Bank is an initiative by Project Charpoka. It is a voluntary blood donating project in Bangladesh. The Charpoka Blood Bank was inaugurated in 2016. It has the largest database of blood donors and it aimed to build 2 million blood donors database by 2020. [17]
Blood transfusion is the process of transferring blood products into a person's circulation intravenously. Transfusions are used for various medical conditions to replace lost components of the blood. Early transfusions used whole blood, but modern medical practice commonly uses only components of the blood, such as red blood cells, plasma, platelets, and other clotting factors. White blood cells are transfused only in very rare circumstances, since granulocyte transfusion has limited applications. Whole blood has come back into use in the trauma setting.
Transfusion medicine is the branch of medicine that encompasses all aspects of the transfusion of blood and blood components including aspects related to hemovigilance. It includes issues of blood donation, immunohematology and other laboratory testing for transfusion-transmitted diseases, management and monitoring of clinical transfusion practices, patient blood management, therapeutic apheresis, stem cell collections, cellular therapy, and coagulation. Laboratory management and understanding of state and federal regulations related to blood products are also a large part of the field.
Thalassemias are inherited blood disorders that result in abnormal hemoglobin. Symptoms depend on the type of thalassemia and can vary from none to severe. Often there is mild to severe anemia as thalassemia can affect the production of red blood cells and also affect how long the red blood cells live. Symptoms of anemia include feeling tired and having pale skin. Other symptoms of thalassemia include bone problems, an enlarged spleen, yellowish skin, pulmonary hypertension, and dark urine. Slow growth may occur in children. Symptoms and presentations of thalassemia can change over time. Older terms included Cooley's anemia and Mediterranean anemia for beta-thalassemia. These have been superseded by the terms Transfusion-Dependent Thalassemia (TDT) and non-Transfusion-Dependent Thalassemia (NTDT). Patients with TDT require regular transfusions, typically every two to five weeks. TDTs include Beta-thalassemia major, nondeletional HbH disease, survived Hb Bart's disease, and severe HbE/beta-thalassemia.
A blood donation occurs when a person voluntarily has blood drawn and used for transfusions and/or made into biopharmaceutical medications by a process called fractionation. A donation may be of whole blood, or of specific components directly (apheresis). Blood banks often participate in the collection process as well as the procedures that follow it.
Plateletpheresis is the process of collecting thrombocytes, more commonly called platelets, a component of blood involved in blood clotting. The term specifically refers to the method of collecting the platelets, which is performed by a device used in blood donation that separates the platelets and returns other portions of the blood to the donor. Platelet transfusion can be a life-saving procedure in preventing or treating serious complications from bleeding and hemorrhage in patients who have disorders manifesting as thrombocytopenia or platelet dysfunction. This process may also be used therapeutically to treat disorders resulting in extraordinarily high platelet counts such as essential thrombocytosis.
In England, blood and other tissues are collected by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT). NHSBT Blood Donation was previously known as the National Blood Service until it merged with UK Transplant in 2005 to form a NHS special health authority. Other official blood services in the United Kingdom include the Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service, the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service and the Welsh Blood Service.
Sir Salimullah Medical College (SSMC), commonly known as Mitford, is a public medical college in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It was established as the Dacca Medical School in 1875. In 1975, it was upgraded to a medical college. It includes Mitford Hospital, which is the oldest hospital in the country and one of the earliest hospitals in the Indian subcontinent from where the evolution of medical education started.
Faridpur Medical College, is a public medical college located in Faridpur, Bangladesh. It is affiliated with the University of Dhaka as a constituent medical college.
The Associazione Volontari Italiani del Sangue (AVIS) is the major Italian non-profit and charitable organisation for blood donation, bringing together over a million volunteer blood donors across Italy. It is headquartered in Lombardy, Italy.
Husaini Blood Bank (HBB) is a public health organization with its headquarter at Karachi and working for the welfare of the people of Pakistan via its sub offices and affiliated department/NGOs all over the country. HBB was founded in 1979 by Dr Hasan Ali Vajid with the establishment of Husaini Haematology and Oncology Trust inside his Clinic at Soldier Bazar Karachi through the support of Mr Hamid D. Habib, the chairman of Habib Trusts and started blood collection and donation at a very small scale.
Teacher-Student Centre, also known as TSC of the University of Dhaka is a building on the Dhaka University campus in Shahbagh, Dhaka, Bangladesh. The centre was established in 1961 by the Dhaka University by the Division of Public Affairs.
Cox's Bazar Medical College is a government medical school in Bangladesh, established in 2008. It is located in Cox's Bazar.
Jai Gopal Jolly was an Indian physician and professor of the Department of Transfusion Medicine at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India. He is an internationally known expert in the field of blood transfusion, who pioneered the voluntary blood donation movement in India, and is regarded as the "Father of Transfusion Medicine in India". He spearheaded the campaign to prohibit sale and purchase of blood from professional donors in India, which was later incorporated into the National Blood Policy of India by the Government of India. He has generated awareness among the masses about the significance of blood donation programmes by observing "Blood Donation Day" on 1 October. This has helped in obtaining adequate quantity of quality blood from voluntary donors.
Sankalp India Foundations is a Bangalore-based non-government organisation. It is a youth organisation working for blood donation, thalassemia, bone marrow transplantation and disaster relief.
Kushtia Medical College is a government medical school in Kushtia, Bangladesh, established in 2011. The college is affiliated with Sheikh Hasina Medical University as a constituent college.
Voluntary Health Services, popularly known as the VHS Hospital, is a multispecialty tertiary care referral hospital in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu, reportedly serving the economically weaker sections of the society. It was founded in 1958 by Krishnaswami Srinivas Sanjivi, an Indian physician, social worker and a winner of Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan awards and is run by a charitable non governmental organization of the same name. The hospital is situated along Rajiv Gandhi Salai at Taramani, in Chennai.
Fereydoun Ala is an Iranian physician and academician, specialised in internal medicine, haematology, blood transfusion and haemostasis, who established the first Clinical Haematology Department, and the first Haemophilia Centre in Iran at the Tehran University Medical Faculty. He was the founder of the Iranian National Blood Transfusion Service (INBTS), a centralised, state-funded organisation, established in 1974, for the recruitment of healthy, voluntary, non-remunerated blood donors.
Blood donations in India are conducted by organisations and hospitals through blood donation camps. Donors can also visit blood banks in hospitals to donate blood. Efforts by the government and advocacy groups over the years have helped bridge the gap between demand and supply. The regulatory framework for blood donation and blood bank management rests with the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation, while technical bodies like the National Blood Transfusion Council and National AIDS Control Organisation formulate guidelines and recommendations for transfusion medicine and blood bank management. Challenges persist with regards to regulation of blood banks and transfusion practices as the sector is largely fragmented with uneven distribution of blood banks and supply of blood in parts of the country. Donors are usually provided with refreshments after the procedure, which include glucose drinks, biscuits and fruits. Some organisations offer transportation facilities, as well as certificates or badges as gratitude.
Sandhani is a voluntary organization run by students of medical colleges in the health sector of Bangladesh that builds and manages blood and organ donation centers. In 2004, the government of Bangladesh awarded Sandhani the Independence Day Award, its highest civilian award, for its contribution to social service.
Percy Lane Oliver was a British civil servant, who is credited with founding the first volunteer blood donation service. A layman, Oliver was working for the Camberwell division of the Red Cross in 1921 when he responded to a call from a local hospital requesting an urgent blood donation. This experience led him to organise a panel of donors whose blood types were known and who were available to donate on request. The donors, unusually for the time, were not paid. Oliver's blood donation service, which he ran out of his London home, would grow from 20 volunteers at its inception to approximately 2700 in 1938. His model of voluntary blood donation was adopted throughout Britain and in other countries.