For many people suffering from colossal blood loss, anaemia, hemophilia, or various other blood diseases, blood transfusion is crucial for survival. The article "HIV Transmission Via Transfusions in Continent Remains High," by Alison Walkley, relays a negative outcome due to blood transfusion in Africa; the contraction of HIV, a highly contagious disease, most often contracted through blood transmission or sexual activity. Many unlucky patients are being injected with HIV-tainted blood during the transfusion process. This practice is often fatal, occurring throughout Africa, due to limited amounts of healthy blood to transfer. Currently, the World Health Organization (WHO), estimates that between 5% and 10% of recently documented HIV cases are the outcomes of infectious blood used for transfusions.
Sadly, approximately 87% of African counties do not have the healthy blood required to meet blood donation standards. That being said, eight-million units of blood are to be collected annually for donation, but because the majority of African countries do not have sufficient blood, only three-million units were collected. Not only are blood clinics lacking hale blood, they are also lacking adequate equipment and money to thoroughly test the blood units for HIV contamination. This causes a nearly 95% to 100% (250-500 people daily!) chance of contracting infected blood.
Now, in order to halt unhealthy blood transfusion, more and more African countries are constructing policies, making it mandatory for clinics to screen all blood units for infection. Dr. Neelam Dhingra, the blood transfusion safety coordinator for the WHO, states that this policy is nearly impossible, because many countries are not able to supply healthy blood, proper blood testing material, and substantial clinics. Dhingra believes that more blood donations, and appropriate testing are essential in making sure that patients in Africa are getting acceptable transfused blood.
There is no evident author bias present in this article. The article does not contain opinion, it consists of alarming issues, facts, and statistics regarding the HIV transmission due to blood transfusion. The article does, however, contain quotes from Dr. Neelam Dhingra, who is the WHO blood transfusion safety coordinator. Dhingra is concerned for the health of African citizens, and he is trying to create ways to make the blood transfusion system safer, positive, and more effective.
In my opinion, this article was very organized and informative. It successfully relayed an alarming message of what is happening in Africa, due to their poverty and obsolete equipment. A main reason why I chose this article, is because I feel that it is informative and necessary to be aware of infectious disease evident in other parts of the world. During reading and summarizing this article, I connected the HIV contraction in Africa to the Swine Flu scare here. While the United States has been caught up in the current phenomenon of Swine Flu, Africa is in a tangled mess to prevent the rapid spread of HIV. In the United States, we are lucky to have advanced medical technology and knowledge to assist us in finding ways to stop the Swine Flu from spreading. We can't take this for granted, because this article allows us to see that Africa is far behind us in essential gear to prevent a much bigger health issue than Swine Flu. For the full article, visit here: http://allafrica.com/stories/201001050140.html
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It has always been universally known that HIV/AIDS is a serious problem in Africa however, I never realized that a very high percentage of the people infected become infected during blood transfusions. It is absolutely mind-blowing that a country can allow this to happen. Blood transfusions are associated with saving people's lives, not destroying them. I am glad that something is being done about this problem, but it is sad to know that this has already affected so many people. Hopefully by creating policies and standard for the blood used in transfusions, many future lives can be spared.
ReplyDeleteI thought this article was very informative and that Mary made a great connection between this issue in Africa and the Swine Flu outbreak here in the U.S.
Like Natalie, I found this article to be very shocking. That so many people in Africa are infected with HIV every year due to the same problem with infected blood transfusions is astonishing. Especially since these transfusions are supposed to aid people's health rather than further damage it.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with the claim that the country is at fault for "allowing this to happen." While it is true they have responsibilities for protecting the health of the African citizens, it is not necessarily the government's fault the blood transfusions are infected. Plus, since the problem has been recognized, the country is now making an effort creating policies that require screening all blood units for infection.
Hopefully with requirements and policies such as these, people will be able to get the safe, healthy blood they need, without fear of contracting HIV.
This article attracted me right away. I completely agree that we as Americans should not take for granted how technically advanced we are and should be grateful that the most serious illness were conernced about is Swine flu. I went to a small village in Africa summer of 2007 and 80% of the village was infected.That is why this article held by interest so much. It's so interesting to observe America and our response to the Swine flu compared to what it was like in Swaziland.
ReplyDeleteI also believe that Dr. Dhingra is accurate in his opinion. Of course it would be ideal to screen blood before transfusion, but it is simply not realistic. This brought me into a further concern. I think that this article is proof in itself that we as Americans should be taking a firm hand on this and give money to do these screenings. This may be easier said than done, but Africa is apart of our world too.
This article was very concerning and intrigueing. I thought that it a was summarized and analyzed thouroughly and accurately. I definitely agree with opinions and purpose of this article
*This article was very concerning and inrigueing. I thought that it was summarized and analyzed thouroughly and accurately. I definitely agree with the purpose and opinions of this article.
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