Whole blood pathogen inactivation: which benefit for blood safety in Africa?

Abstract

According to WHO, the global burden of disease due to unsafe blood transfusion can be reduced through an integrated approach for blood safety based on 4 strategies:

-          Establishment of a nationally-coordinated blood transfusion service

-          Collection of blood only from voluntary non-remunerated blood donors from low-risk populations

-          Testing of all donated blood, including screening for transfusion-transmissible infections (TTIs), blood grouping and compatibility testing

-          Reduction in unnecessary transfusions through the effective clinical use of blood¹.