By Sue-Ann Wayow
SOON there should be no more chit system to donate blood as it creates inequity in the health system.
The Ministry of Health earlier this week hosted a mini-symposium with key stakeholders to discuss the move towards a Voluntary Non-Remunerated Blood Donation (VNRBD) System for Trinidad and Tobago.
The ministry in a press release on Friday stated, “The VNRBD System, which will succeed the Replacement (Chit) System approach currently utilised nationally, will address the challenges faced in the collection of blood and blood products for the health system.”
The symposium, which took place at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mount Hope, included senior representatives from: Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), regional health authorities, Society for Inherited and Severe Blood Disorders (Trinidad and Tobago) Ltd, University of the West Indies (UWI) , SEWA International Trinidad and Tobago and haematology and medical students.
In her presentation, PAHO Country Representative Dr Erica Wheeler for Trinidad and Tobago, said, “Blood donation by unpaid voluntary blood donors is critical to the safety and sustainability of national blood supplies, as replacement donation by family and friends of patients requiring transfusion can rarely meet clinical demands for blood.”
The concept of voluntary blood donation is not new to Trinidad and Tobago. Consultant and Senior Lecturer at UWI Dr Kenneth Charles, spoke about the UWI’s Blood Donor Foundation (UWIBDF) during his presentation on the Strategic Plan for the National Blood Transfusion Service.
Over the period of 2015 to 2019, the quantity of voluntary non-remunerated donations received during UWIBFD blood donation drives rose from 13 to a high of 118. The insights from the UWIBFD experience will be incorporated into the strategy for the national VNRBD System, the ministry stated.
And Minister of Health Terrence Deyalsingh said that the current system of donated blood has created inequity in the system.
He said the need for a structured programme to promote altruistic blood donation, which would increase the number of blood units collected annually and ensure that a safe and secure supply of blood is available to every member of the public, despite socio-economic differences.
