On most days our local blood banks supply hospitals with blood given by regular donors. The only time that most of us might ever give an urgent blood donation is when a family member is ill and needs our help. Sometimes we hear – or read – about a shortage at our local blood bank and it compels us to go in, roll up our sleeves and donate. This system usually works fine, but there are cases every year of patients not receiving blood in time. A good example of this is what happened in the Central Asian Republic of Kyrgyzstan a few years ago.
Blood is needed every day, but what happens when the blood needed is not there?
Kyrgyzstan was once part of the Soviet Union, and people were used to donating and showing solidarity with one another. With the breakup of the USSR, many countries have yet to fully develop new systems for everyday life. Donating blood is one of those things that has not recovered to pre-Soviet levels. This has been especially troublesome for expectant mothers who may need blood transfusions after giving birth.
As of five years ago, in Krgyzstan, 82 out of every 100 women who died after childbirth could have been saved by a blood transfusion. The situation was so drastic that some patients were given blood without checking the blood types. A person can go into shock if given the wrong blood type, so these situations could be made even worse. The country now depends almost entirely on help from family members and experiences chronic shortages of blood types not usually found in Asia. Another horrible fact is that only 10% of the population is even able to give blood.
We are much more fortunate here in the U.S. where there is still a sense of civic pride behind giving blood (even though the percentage of donors has dropped from 10% of the population to now only 5%). Our newborns can expect to see their mothers helped, with blood donations from selfless volunteers.
If the donor numbers continue to drop, what are your ideas to attract more people to donate their blood and save lives?
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Wow, those are some unreal statistics. 82% of those deaths could’ve been prevented.