WHO report shows progress in blood safety, but there are worrying gaps

Released on Friday ahead of World Blood Donor Day on 14 June, the WHO study offers the most comprehensive assessment to date of blood systems worldwide, drawing on data from 168 countries representing 97 per cent of the global population.

The report highlights significant advances in blood donation and safety. More than 85 per cent of blood donations worldwide now come from voluntary unpaid donors – long considered the safest and most sustainable source of blood.

Progress remains uneven

While many countries have strengthened national blood systems and expanded access to safe transfusions, shortages, weak governance and inadequate financing continue to limit access in many low- and middle-income countries.

“Access to sufficient, secure supplies of blood and blood products, coupled with safe transfusion practices, is a fundamental component of resilient health systems and a critical enabler of universal health coverage,” wrote Deusdedit Mubangizi, Director for Medicines and Health Products Policies and Standards at WHO, in the report’s preface.

“Despite notable progress over the past decade, universal access to safe blood and blood products remains elusive for many countries.”

More than transfusions

A reliable blood supply is essential for treating a wide range of medical conditions, from severe bleeding during childbirth and emergency surgery to cancer treatment, chronic blood disorders and severe anaemia.

Donated plasma – the liquid portion of blood – is also used to produce medicines for people living with bleeding disorders, immune deficiencies and other serious conditions.

When safe blood is unavailable, patients can die from otherwise treatable illnesses and injuries.

The report examines every stage of the transfusion chain, from donor recruitment and blood collection to laboratory testing, clinical use and access to plasma-derived medicines.

A continuing challenge

It identifies inadequate governance and unsustainable financing as among the biggest obstacles facing national blood services in many countries.

It also notes ongoing efforts to diversify plasma collection and strengthen global supply chains for plasma-derived medicinal products, which remain inaccessible or unaffordable in many settings.

Achieving equitable access, WHO says, will require sustained political commitment, stronger national systems and continued international cooperation.

World Blood Donor Day

This year’s World Blood Donor Day campaign carries the theme: “One Drop of Humanity. Give Blood. Save Lives.”

The campaign aims to encourage regular voluntary blood donation while highlighting what WHO describes as the values of solidarity, compassion and shared responsibility that underpin safe blood systems worldwide.