Blood Establishments and Hospital Transfusion Services in South Asia - Disaster and Emergency Preparedness

The archetype of a hazard, disaster and humanitarian emergency is in the biblical myth of Adam and Eve. Disasters and emergencies do happen all over the world, both natural and man-made or both. Since 1970, Asia and the Pacific have accounted for 57% of global fatalities from disasters and 87 per cent of the global population that has been affected by natural hazards.

It is important to do a gap analysis and a risk assessment before creating a disaster and emergency preparedness plan at the national, regional and local levels to anticipate such situations. Equally important is to decide in advance what to do and how to react to such a situation in order to restore the ‘business as usual’. The blood system is an integral part of the healthcare system and should be ready to act when necessary – donor mobilization, triage, personnel, stock management and distribution. The hospital should be prepared and anticipate introducing priority setting in patient care, stock management, restricted transfusion practice and above all communication.

The article provides a list of recommendations to prepare for such expected and unexpected disaster situations to mitigate as much as possible the deleterious consequences. The study concluded that it is important to have a disaster or emergency preparedness plan and a contingency or response and recovery plan in place with reliable collaboration and communication networks that can be activated instantaneously and effectively.