Blood transfusion in a developing society. Who is the best blood donor?

摘要

We read with interest the recent article on blood donation in resource-poor Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) (Allain, 2011). On the grounds that first time voluntary non-remunerated blood donors (VNRD) are no safer than replacement family donors (R/F) and the cost of a unit of blood from VNRD is considerably greater than one from R/F, the author recommends the retention of both R/F and VNRD. We chronicle the development of blood transfusion services in Trinidad and Tobago (TRT) to offer another perspective on the relative cost and safety, the feasibility of accepting both types of donor and to propose an alternative strategy for blood safety, affordability and adequacy in developing countries.