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by Brooke Bunch
Mario Grijalva, Ph.D.,
is making the world a better place.
Grijalva, an immunology
professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences, was part of
an elite group of scientists recently called to Geneva,
Switzerland, to develop a set of global guidelines for blood
safety. Grijalva was invited to the
World Health Organization Consultation on Development of
Guidelines for Blood Transfusion Safety on Donation Testing for
Transfusion-transmissible Infections, which took place Oct. 4–6.
“It’s what all the countries in
the world should follow,” Grijalva says. “It’s a framework to
develop a good, safe blood supply.”
One representative from each
continent was invited to the conference. Grijalva was selected
by the Pan American Health
Organization for South America due to his efforts in
continually working to improve the safety of the blood supply in
Ecuador.
According to Grijalva, 43
percent of the world blood supply is not safe, noting the lack
of proper testing and procedures in developing countries.
“Only developed countries such
as the United States, Canada, European Union and Japan have good
testing requirements,” he said. “However, the rest of the world,
or 43 percent of the population, does not.”
Grijalva said there
are several diseases that can be transmitted through blood,
including HIV, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, syphilis, Chagas
Disease and HTLV.
“Our goal is to
prevent these diseases, and this will definitely help to do just
that,” Grijalva says. “This will provide sound guidelines that
can be applied in countries all over the world.”
Grijalva said the group
discussed all aspects of blood safety and what procedures should
be followed.
“These are policies that need to
be adopted worldwide. This will help countries improve their
procedures and give them the proper framework to follow.”
Grijalva said countries
worldwide must require blood donors to fill out a questionnaire
regarding behavior that would put them at risk for sexually
transmitted diseases and disease history prior to donating. Then
countries must follow a strict protocol in testing the blood. If
an infectious agent such as HIV is found, they have an
obligation to report to and provide counseling and education for
the donor on the disease.
“They have a responsibility not
just towards the blood supply, but to the donor as well, and
this is sometimes overlooked” he said.
Grijalva said he offered a
unique perspective at the conference due to his experience
working with both developed and developing countries.
“Most who participated had
one-sided view,” he said. “They either had a developing-country
mentality or a developed-country mentality. They didn’t
understand each other because their worlds were so different. I
was the bridge between them.”
Grijalva has done extensive
blood work in Ecuador, continually evaluating the performance of
blood banks to ensure safety.
News for the week of Nov. 8 – Nov. 13
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