World Blood Donor Day celebrated (2)

According to the world health organization, while millions of people are dependent on blood transfusions, many do not have timely access to safe blood and products. And WHO says with fewer blood borne infections, voluntary unpaid donors are the safest source, compared to people who give blood in exchange of money or who donate to family members during emergencies.

As it marked the 10th Anniversary of the World blood donor day with the theme ,The gift of life , donate blood , WHO’s goal is for countries to obtain 100% of their supplies of blood and blood products from voluntary unpaid donors by 2020. Kenya is ranked among the countries that have almost attained this target here the trend is being driven by the youth.

"The adult population has fear of knowing they have some diseases , so they keep off," technical director of Regional Blood Transfusion Centre Abdinasir Dahir said.

The world health organization says, in poor countries up to 65% of blood transfusions are given to children under the age of five; while in developed nations, the demand for blood transfusion is huge among patients over 65 years of age. This accounts for up to 76% of all transfusions. About 107 million units of blood donations are collected globally every year.