WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus.
By Franca Ofili
The World Health Organization (WHO) has called for stronger governance and increased funding for national blood systems.
The organisation warned that weak oversight continues to deny millions of patients access to safe blood transfusions in spite of record levels of voluntary donations worldwide.
WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, made the call in a message marking World Blood Donor Day, observed annually on June 14 with the theme, “One Drop of Humanity. Give Blood. Save Lives.”
Ghebreyesus said voluntary, unpaid blood donors now accounted for more than 85 per cent of global blood collections, up from 78 per cent a decade ago.
However, he noted that only 40 per cent of countries had fully functional national blood systems with adequate governance, quality control and financing.
“Blood saves lives, but only if it is safe, available and managed well. Stronger governance is not optional.
“It is the difference between life and death for mothers in childbirth, children with anaemia and patients needing surgery,” he said.
He said the appeal came as WHO released new data revealing major disparities in blood availability worldwide.
According to the data, high-income countries record an average of 33 blood donations per 1,000 people, compared with just five donations per 1,000 people in low-income countries.
He said fewer than half of low-income countries had national blood policies backed by legislation, while many continued to depend on family replacement or paid donors, increasing the risk of transfusion-transmitted infections.
He urged governments to establish independent national blood authorities, enforce quality standards and provide dedicated funding to ensure blood supplies were not disrupted by economic challenges.
The WHO chief said data showed that 60 per cent of countries spent less than one dollar per capital annually on blood services, far below the level required to maintain screening, storage and distribution systems.
“Without stable funding, blood banks face shortages of testing kits, refrigeration and trained staff. The result is avoidable deaths from postpartum haemorrhage, trauma and childhood malaria,” he said.
Ghebreyesus added that only 70 per cent of donated blood in low-income countries is screened for HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C and syphilis in line with WHO standards.
He said this compared with 100 per cent screening coverage in high-income countries, highlighting significant gaps in blood safety systems.
He warned that weak regulatory oversight allowed unsafe blood to enter supply chains, undermining public confidence and discouraging voluntary donors.
Ahead of the commemoration, WHO urged countries to adopt its “20 Actions” framework, which includes enacting national blood laws, investing in voluntary donor programmes and integrating blood services into universal health coverage plans.
“Every country can achieve self-sufficiency in safe blood if leaders treat it as a core health system function. Governance and investment today will save lives tomorrow,” he said.
