Essay On Safe Blood

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Blood is a specialized body fluid in humans that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Human blood is an element of human life. The ancient Egyptians recognized the important properties of blood and it was used to resuscitate the sick, rejuvenate the old and infirm by bathing them with it and they also used it as a tonic for the treatment of various disorders. In 1740, Drs. Karl Landsteiner and Alexander Weiner experimented with the red blood cells of Rhesus monkeys. In 1901, Dr. Karl Landsteiner discovered the ABO blood group system, which was a very important factor in blood donation. The use of stored blood began during World War 1 (1914-1918), …show more content…

It contributes to saving millions of lives each year in both routine and emergency situations, permits increasingly complex medical and surgical interventions and improves the quality of life of patients with a variety of acute and chronic conditions. Many patients still die or suffer unnecessarily because they do not have access to safe blood transfusion. The timely availability of safe blood and blood products is essential in all health facilities, but in many developing and transitional countries there is a widespread gap between blood requirements and blood supplies. National requirements for blood are determined by the capacity of the country’s health care system and its coverage of the population. In developed countries with advanced health systems, the demand for blood continues to rise to support increasingly sophisticated medical and surgical procedures, trauma care and the management of blood disorders. (2)

The safest source of blood is from regular, voluntary unpaid donors whose blood is screened for infections. A World Health Assembly resolution adopted in 2010 highlights that a secure supply of safe blood components, based on voluntary, non-remunerated blood donation, is an important national goal to prevent blood shortages. Now a day, in many low- and middle-income countries, blood supply is critically inadequate. Sub-Saharan Africa, which has the highest maternal mortality rate in the world of 510

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