A Case For Blood Donation As Demand For Blood Rises
Walking across emergency units in hospitals and health centers across the UK, one would naturally be saddened at the desperation, hopelessness and 
confusion resulting from the urgent demand for blood for transfusion in order to rescue a dying family member, colleague or friend. The blood is not just there, when they are there, it’s not enough to cater for the demand and sometimes, the ones in stock doesn’t match. The situation is pathetic and disheartening. About 3 million donations are required in the country annually, however, 5% of the population donate blood which is a far cry from the demand. The NHSBT estimate has revealed a steady decline in blood donation since the turn of the century. It also reveals the indifferent attitude of African and Asian communities towards blood donation.
Before delving into the palpable causes of this apathetic attitude, two concepts will be examined in relation to the shortage of blood donors in the UK and indeed most European countries, Canada and the in the US.
Blood Donor Stress
This refers to the downward trend in the number of willing and able blood donors over a specific period of time. It is a phenomenon that describes how hitherto enthusiastic donors have stopped donating. Stress may occur when individuals find other means of engaging themselves rewarding and less stressful, e.g. holiday vacations and engagement in sporting activities. It could also result from the emergence of a new or existing sub-culture or practices, which discourages blood donation. A good example is the growth witnessed in the tattoo making industry, which automatically disqualifies people. Other causes of stress include busy work schedule, family commitments and other social engagements.
Blood donor Apathy/Indifference
This is a conscious and deliberate attribution of triviality to blood donation in the UK and the Americas. People don’t just care. They are unconcerned about the urgent need to save lives and are unwilling to do the needful when the call arises. Just like the stressed out blood donor, the Apathetic fellow is not ignorant of the consequences of blood donation, although, he certainly has no excuse.
Reasons for this indifferent attitude could include, but not limited to cultural orientations and the lack of reward or excitement that usually comes with donating blood.
Formulating strategies that help to encourage Black and Asian communities participate regularly in blood donation is not an impossible task. The functionality of a pragmatic approach towards reversing Blood Donor Apathy, is premised upon an all-inclusive model of participatory engagement and the conscious effort to appeal to the social conscience of the target group. The generalization of approach to tackling this health security challenge is impracticable, costly and time wasting.
Health Policy formulators in the UK, especially the NHSBT must not attempt to generalize the prevailing Blood Donor Apathy among ethnic communities, by applying methods adopted in Blood Donor Deficit or Stress. Engaging ethnic groups to participate in any government endorsed and societally relevant project, involves the understanding of cultural dynamics, which include history, customs, their predisposition to health issues and their level of social integration. Attempting to enforce or propagate any project or policy, without recourse to establishing the cultural links in the explanation of cause and effect, is not only a costly assumption, it is also a policy suicidal.
Beyond the cultural stumbling block, economic factors are also significant when formulating policies that aim at the BAME community in the UK. From a global outlook, figures released by WHO reveals that blood donation rate is higher among high-income countries, with an estimated donation of 33.1 per 1000 people. Middle-income countries account for 11.7%, while countries with low-income add a mere 4.6% to the donation rate. Given that income levels of Blacks and Asians in the UK are relatively lower than their White counterparts, we may, therefore, deduce that income levels are significant factors to consider if any NHSBT programme will be impactful.
By examining the UK Blood Donation History, we are reminded of our gradual progress towards being one of the countries in the world with high numbers of annual blood donation. However, a gulf still exist considering the levels of blood donation in countries like Austria, France, Greece, Cyprus and Eastern European countries where over 40% donation levels are recorded. With blood donation levels below 40% and with the high rate of demand for blood, there is the need to investigate what others have done rightly and where we have erred.
Although, homogeneous factors can be a strong argument for the relative success in such countries, there is the need to also take a comparative analysis of these countries vis-Ã -vis the proportion of their Black and Asian population. In doing this, we can compare and contrast how they’ve been able to achieve meaningful success and how the NHS Blood and Transplant can absorb contents of their policy framework, in as much as it is proven to be practicable in the UK.
The number of eligible blood donors in the US and the number of actual blood donors is higher when compared to other countries. Apart from the population figures which is significantly higher, other factors such as the need by migrant population to get citizenship has also been an important factor that has contributed to this increase. Blood donation in the US is seen as a patriotic effort which must be rewarded in kind. Although, Austria has a 66% donation levels, which is the highest in the UK, it has a significantly low proportion of non-white population. The success recorded is essentially due to its homogenous population characteristics. So how do we encourage minority groups to donate blood?
Before delving into the palpable causes of this apathetic attitude, two concepts will be examined in relation to the shortage of blood donors in the UK and indeed most European countries, Canada and the in the US.
Blood Donor Stress
This refers to the downward trend in the number of willing and able blood donors over a specific period of time. It is a phenomenon that describes how hitherto enthusiastic donors have stopped donating. Stress may occur when individuals find other means of engaging themselves rewarding and less stressful, e.g. holiday vacations and engagement in sporting activities. It could also result from the emergence of a new or existing sub-culture or practices, which discourages blood donation. A good example is the growth witnessed in the tattoo making industry, which automatically disqualifies people. Other causes of stress include busy work schedule, family commitments and other social engagements.
Blood donor Apathy/Indifference
This is a conscious and deliberate attribution of triviality to blood donation in the UK and the Americas. People don’t just care. They are unconcerned about the urgent need to save lives and are unwilling to do the needful when the call arises. Just like the stressed out blood donor, the Apathetic fellow is not ignorant of the consequences of blood donation, although, he certainly has no excuse.
Reasons for this indifferent attitude could include, but not limited to cultural orientations and the lack of reward or excitement that usually comes with donating blood.
Formulating strategies that help to encourage Black and Asian communities participate regularly in blood donation is not an impossible task. The functionality of a pragmatic approach towards reversing Blood Donor Apathy, is premised upon an all-inclusive model of participatory engagement and the conscious effort to appeal to the social conscience of the target group. The generalization of approach to tackling this health security challenge is impracticable, costly and time wasting.
Health Policy formulators in the UK, especially the NHSBT must not attempt to generalize the prevailing Blood Donor Apathy among ethnic communities, by applying methods adopted in Blood Donor Deficit or Stress. Engaging ethnic groups to participate in any government endorsed and societally relevant project, involves the understanding of cultural dynamics, which include history, customs, their predisposition to health issues and their level of social integration. Attempting to enforce or propagate any project or policy, without recourse to establishing the cultural links in the explanation of cause and effect, is not only a costly assumption, it is also a policy suicidal.
Beyond the cultural stumbling block, economic factors are also significant when formulating policies that aim at the BAME community in the UK. From a global outlook, figures released by WHO reveals that blood donation rate is higher among high-income countries, with an estimated donation of 33.1 per 1000 people. Middle-income countries account for 11.7%, while countries with low-income add a mere 4.6% to the donation rate. Given that income levels of Blacks and Asians in the UK are relatively lower than their White counterparts, we may, therefore, deduce that income levels are significant factors to consider if any NHSBT programme will be impactful.
By examining the UK Blood Donation History, we are reminded of our gradual progress towards being one of the countries in the world with high numbers of annual blood donation. However, a gulf still exist considering the levels of blood donation in countries like Austria, France, Greece, Cyprus and Eastern European countries where over 40% donation levels are recorded. With blood donation levels below 40% and with the high rate of demand for blood, there is the need to investigate what others have done rightly and where we have erred.
Although, homogeneous factors can be a strong argument for the relative success in such countries, there is the need to also take a comparative analysis of these countries vis-Ã -vis the proportion of their Black and Asian population. In doing this, we can compare and contrast how they’ve been able to achieve meaningful success and how the NHS Blood and Transplant can absorb contents of their policy framework, in as much as it is proven to be practicable in the UK.
The number of eligible blood donors in the US and the number of actual blood donors is higher when compared to other countries. Apart from the population figures which is significantly higher, other factors such as the need by migrant population to get citizenship has also been an important factor that has contributed to this increase. Blood donation in the US is seen as a patriotic effort which must be rewarded in kind. Although, Austria has a 66% donation levels, which is the highest in the UK, it has a significantly low proportion of non-white population. The success recorded is essentially due to its homogenous population characteristics. So how do we encourage minority groups to donate blood?
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