Topic: Blood Supply Safety
Country: South Africa
Delegate Name: Allie Cobb
School: Williamston High School
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All South Africa position papers GLIMUN 2010 committees
The safety of a nation’s blood supply is obviously an extremely important issue. This is a concept that South Africa, and many of its neighbors have learned all too well with the current AIDs epidemic. The safety of blood supply is vital to keeping a nation healthy and keeping disease rates down, therefore South Africa advocates for bloody supply safety, and has found some success locally by implementing policy. South Africa supports any other nation that would undertake similar projects.
In South Africa, the South African National Blood Service is responsible for collecting blood used in transfusions, and has suceeded in making this blood among the safest in Africa. The guidelines set forth are in accordance with the recommendations to the World Health Organization. South Africa acknowledges the benefits of these recommendations.
South Africa has found that screening potential donors for HIV 1 and 2, Hepatitis B, Syphilis, and Hepatitis C are very effective in promoting the safety of the blood supply.
South Africa has found that by closing blood clinics in areas with a high prevelance of HIV, they can stop the spread of blood tainted with the HIV virus. The South African National Blood Service collects nearly 700,000 units of blood each year. They estimate that 5-10% of HIV and AIDS cases in South Africa are aquired through infected blood transfusions.
South Africa has recently inplemented new donor safety interviews, and have closed donation centers in areas with high disease prevelance. While using these two techniques and by educationg donors, South Africa is reducing the rate of infection.
