|
|||||||||
|
American Red Cross and TDI Partnership in Ecuador |
||||||||
While The United States blood supply
is the safest it has ever been, much of the world grapples with
blood safety due to poor funding and inadequate testing. More
than two-thirds of the world's nations are failing to supply
safe blood to their populations, according to the World Health
Organization. That’s why the Tropical Disease Institute at Ohio
University is working with the American Red Cross in Central
Ohio to improve blood safety in Ecuador. 
In the initiative’s first year, the Central Ohio Region and the Tropical Disease Institute sent a team in June 2000 to analyze blood banking practices and develop plans to improve those practices. In November 2000, guests from the Ecuadorian Red Cross joined the Central Ohio Region and the Tropical Disease Institute on a seven-day fellowship to explore new technology, blood banking practices and quality control.
In the news: PAHO Launches Latin American Blood Safety Initiative
|
|||||||||
Chagas’
Disease, the often-fatal disease, for which there is no vaccine
or cure, is transmitted to humans mainly by triatomid insects
and blood transfusion, and often works to destroy the heart and
other organs. It is the single most common cause of congestive
heart failure in South America. The World Health Organization,
states that the elimination of Chagas’ Disease is based on
stopping transmission, and the systematic screening of blood
donors. This initiative is aimed to improve the infrastructure,
the procedures and the safety of the blood bank systems in
Ecuador as means to reduce the risk of transmission of
infectious diseases through blood transfusions.