Blood donations mode: Assessment of the Lebanese model

Abstract

Voluntary non-remunerated donations remain the cornerstone for a safe and sustainable blood supply. According to the World Health Organization and other international scientific committees, all nations must switch their system of blood collection to voluntary non-remunerated donation. Several other types of blood donations still exist nowadays that will be discussed. Lebanon, similarly to other developing countries, is struggling to achieve 100% voluntary non-remunerated donations for the many existing social, demographic, cultural and economic problems. Replacement donations remain the predominant type, which creates huge burden on both hospital blood banks and patient families. Despite the limited resources, some improvements have been made recently in this field and Lebanon seems to be on the road of achieving 100% voluntary non-remunerated blood donation as requested by the World Health Organization. The Lebanese experience is worth sharing so that neighbouring countries facing similar problems could benefit from it.

Keywords: Blood donation; Don de remplacement; Don de sang; Donneur volontaire et non rémunéré; Lebanon; Liban; Replacement donors; Voluntary non-remunerated donors.