Donating blood is truly a selfless act of humankind. With no recognition or compensation, one voluntarily gives this precious commodity that helps save lives.

How do we thank those that give blood selflessly to those in need? How does society show appreciation and respect for such a small act of kindness that has such a significant impact?

World Blood Donor Day is a time to show appreciation for the many lives touched and saved through the countless litres of blood donated. It is a time to pause and show appreciation for the blood transfusion services, which are non-profit organisations that, through their research and technological advancement awareness, have made blood safer for all.

World Blood Donor Day takes place on 14 June each year. The Day aims to:

• Raise global awareness of the need for safe blood and blood products for transfusion
• Highlight the critical contribution voluntary, unpaid blood donors make to national health systems, and support national blood transfusion services, blood donor organisations, and other non-governmental organisations in strengthening and expanding their voluntary blood donor programmes by reinforcing national and local campaigns.
• The day also provides an opportunity to call to action governments and national health authorities to provide adequate resources to increase blood collection from voluntary, unpaid blood donors and manage access to blood and the transfusion of those who require it.

Since the implementation of NAT (nucleic acid amplification) testing in 2005 of donor blood, improving the detection of both HIV and Hepatitis B, the risk of transmission of these infections to recipients has decreased substantially. Even so, there has been continued progress and advancement in making blood donation safer for all.

From donor safety to recipient safety measures, Mitchel et al from the South African National Blood Service published results of an improved scripted donor interview process in 2019.

The scripted interview process not only decreased the HIV risk of donated blood but alerted donors to high-risk situations and concerns. Donors are deferred from donating if there are any causes of possible problems, which gives donors the time to reflect and engage in self-caring behaviour.

The rate of people who return after the deferred period is below 50%. This was indicated by Glatt et al in their paper discussing “Donor deferral and return patterns in South Africa”.

Most donors are deferred based on a low haemoglobin level and the second reason being high-risk exposure.

What makes some donate and others not, and what makes some decide to go back after a deferral while others never return?

Many believe these interviews and deferrals to be discriminatory and unreasonable. Still, few stop and think to ask, what if it was my child, my mother or father, my sibling who was getting unsafe blood?

From safety to innovation, during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, where little to no donations were coming through out of fear and lockdown restrictions, the world of research continued searching for clues on how to help people fight the virus in cases where they could not resist it themselves.

Answers were believed to be from people who had had COVID-19 and survived. Within three months of the first case of COVID-19 in South Africa, a convalescent plasma programme was set up and operational (Rapid and Successful Implementation of a COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma Programme — The South African Experience; Glatt et al.). The process of collecting plasma from people infected post-infection and using it to treat others and study the immune response to the virus was underway.

Additionally, a paper published by Wibmer and others investigated the role of South African plasma donation in fighting the SARS-CoV-2 501Y.V2 variant. Results showed there wasn’t a good response in neutralising the virus when using antibodies from the donated plasma. But a wealth of information was gained regarding the COVID-19 viral strain. Many of these were used to improve vaccine manufacturing.

There is a view that says that while enabling a social and cultural atmosphere with strong solidarity facilitates the development of an adequate blood donor programme, it is also widely acknowledged that donating blood builds social ties and unites communities.

There are many SANBS locations where one can donate, so be the change you want to see in others and give blood!

Dr Deborah Vaz is a haematology consultant.