$20M Blood Bank building commissioned Jeffrey plugs voluntary donations By Leonard Gildarie Stabroek News April 9, 2000 Minister of Health, Dr Henry Jeffrey, is calling on Guyanese to help save a life by donating blood. The call was made during Friday evening's commissioning of a brand new state-of-the-art, $20 million building to house the National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS). The building, located on the north-eastern side of the Georgetown Hospital compound, was funded mainly from a $20 million grant provided mainly by the European Union (EU) and is fully air-conditioned with staff facilities to ensure a 24-hour service, the minister disclosed. The NBTS was formerly housed in another part of the compound. Since its establishment in 1989, the NBTS had extended its reach to other hospitals around the country to regional hospitals at New Amsterdam, Suddie, West Demerara and Linden. According to Dr Jeffrey, the 1989/1990 period saw just under 1,000 units of blood collected annually; 98% from family or replacement donors. Today the NBTS collects in excess of 3,000 units of blood, but the minister pointed out that the demand is twice this amount. Of the 3,000 units collected, 15% comes from voluntary donors. The minister stressed that this figure needs to be increased considerably since, in Guyana, only eight of every 1,000 persons give blood as compared to the 50 of every 1,000 in the developed countries. A more aggressive programme which focuses on education, a mobile service and collaboration with social organisations such as churches and schools are some of the plans on stream to combat this problem, he said. Dr Jeffrey, who revealed that the NBTS was funded by an annual budget of $50 million, said that at the level of governance and as part of the reform the health sector is undergoing, the management of the NBTS will soon fall to a semi-autonomous agency. The minister said that an average person can give blood about three times a year. He made the call for persons to help save lives by giving blood. Medical Director of the NBTS, Dr Clement McEwan, in his presentation, said that although the blood bank had an obvious growth over the years, problems were still being encountered. Among these problems were the lack of national and regional legislated standards for the operations of blood banks, the chronic inability to meet the national demand due to an unstable voluntary donor base and recruitment and maintenance of critical staff which contribute significantly to quality operations. He expressed his appreciation to the European Union Head of Delegation Vincent de Visscher, PAHO/WHO Representative Dr Bernadette Theodore Gandi; and Programme Manager, Sector Projects of the Caribbean Engineering and Management Company (CEMCO), Kathleen Whalen, for the crucial roles they had played in making the project a reality. The commissioning was also highlighted by the presentation of awards to several donors--companies, individuals and organisations.