Blood safety activities are closely integrated with the Injection Safety and Laboratory Infrastructure program

areas. Blood Safety also has linkages to maternal health aspects of the PMTCT program area; social

mobilization activities in the Condoms and Other Prevention program area; patient referral systems and

confidentiality issues under Counseling and Testing; and data collection and management under Strategic

Information. The project's main objective is to provide a safe and adequate blood supply to people living in

Guyana. All program activities are coordinated by the Ministry of Health's National Blood Transfusion

Service (NBTS). Target Populations: Healthy adults, principally youth, are targeted for recruitment as blood

donors. Women who hemorrhage during and after childbirth, children suffering from anemia, and surgery

patients will be the primary beneficiaries of a safe blood supply.

The project's main objective is to provide a safe and adequate blood supply to people living in Guyana. All

program activities are coordinated by the Ministry of Health's National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS).

Emphasis Areas: Information, Education and Communication; Community Mobilization/Participation; Quality

Assurance, Quality Improvement and Supportive Supervision; Development of Network/Linkages/Referral

Systems

Target Populations: Healthy adults, principally youth, are targeted for recruitment as blood donors. Women

and children with anemia due to malaria, complications of surgery or childbirth, will be the primary

beneficiaries of a safe blood supply.

The World Health Organization will continue to provide Technical Assistance (TA) to the Guyana National

Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS) through a sub-contract to the Pan American Health Organization

(PAHO). PAHO launched its blood safety TA program in Guyana on April 1, 2007 (FY07), taking over from

the American Association of Blood Banks (AABB), which had provided TA to Guyana during the first two

years of the Emergency Plan initiative. In FY07, PAHO has focused its support for NBTS in three areas: 1)

The development of a new 12-month blood collection, screening, processing, and distribution work plan; 2)

Assistance drafting Guyana's new blood safety law; and 3) Training for NBTS technical staff in quality

assurance practices.

In addition to support for these three technical areas, a PAHO consultant, based in Georgetown, interacts

with the NBTS director, NBTS staff, and hospital transfusion professionals on a daily basis. This interaction

includes routine ward visits, assistance with the collection and analysis of monitoring and evaluation (M&E)

data, and on-site mentoring for junior staff. The PAHO consultant also interacts frequently with the CDC

country office and CDC Atlanta to coordinate the external technical assistance agenda.

In FY08, PAHO will continue the activities described above, with special emphasis on the following:

1.Training for physicians and other clinicians in blood utilization. The aim of this training will be to reduce the

number of unnecessary transfusions and orders for blood. The NBTS estimates that up to 50% of all orders

for blood and blood products are unnecessary. Furthermore about 25% of the blood issued is unused. The

PAHO training will cover in-service, continuing education for practicing physicians as well as pre-service

training for medical students and interns.

2.Training for NBTS donor recruitment staff and recruiters working for external partners. This training will

continue work begun in FY07 to coordinate all blood donor recruitment activities through the NBTS Blood

Donor Recruitment Coordinator. Training will also focus on maximizing social marketing materials based on

the findings of the 2007 Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) survey. The goal of this training will be

to ensure that all blood donor recruitment and retention activities follow the National Blood Donor

Recruitment Strategy.

3.Quality assurance. PAHO will provide on-going mentoring for laboratory staff who received QA training in

FY07. Additional, targeted, training sessions will be organized in this area, as necessary, to respond to

weaknesses or emerging problems.

4.Mentoring. The PAHO consultant will work with the three NBTS Coordinators to provide professional

guidance and mentoring in the areas of blood donor recruitment, blood drives, blood collection and storage,

and laboratory screening. The PAHO consultant will also provide mentoring to a junior medical officer (JMO)

if/when such a position is established by the Ministry of Health. The JMO was requested from the MOH in

FY07 to receive in-depth training and mentoring in the management of the national blood transfusion

service. This position was deemed necessary to create a cadre of highly trained young physicians in

Guyana to ensure succession planning at the NBTS. In addition to training, the JMO will also support the

NBTS M&E program.

5.Monitoring and Evaluation. As noted above, the PAHO consultant will provide routine oversight for the

collection and analysis of data collected by the NBTS M&E system. This support will be coordinated with

CDC Guyana and CDC Atlanta.

6.Coordination. As the lead external Technical Assistance provider for blood safety in Guyana, the PAHO

consultant will serve as the central point of contact for all TA. CDC Guyana and CDC Atlanta will coordinate

all major technical assistance activities through PAHO to ensure a clear line of communication with NBTS.

Lastly, as appropriate, PAHO will help the NBTS establish and/or expand professional links to blood

services in neighboring countries and elsewhere in the Caribbean. These linkages will allow NBTS to share

best practices throughout the region and benefit from practices, guidance and advice from other Caribbean

nations.