Importance of health communication in blood transfusion service and how to effectively use different strategies to improve blood donor base.

2. Introduction to National Blood Transfusion Service
• NBTS is a decentralized unit under Ministry of Health.
• NBTS is the sole supplier of blood and blood products to all state hospitals
and private hospitals
• Cluster system – since 2009 - for effective delivery of service to various
parts of the country
• Annual blood collection – 450,000

3. NBTS - organizational structure
• National Blood Centre - The head quarters
• Cluster Centers - 24
• Peripheral Blood Banks -103
• Consultant transfusion physicians - 34
• Medical officers - 550
• Nursing officers - 645
• Medical laboratory technologists - 69
• Public health inspectors - 31
• Other staff - 434
Human resources

5. NBTS - achievements
 NBTS Recognized as a WHO Collaborating
Center for Blood Transfusion Services - 2018
 Award for Best Transfusion Service in
Developing Countries 2012 - From International
Society of Blood Transfusion
 Host of the WHO World Blood Donor Day
Global event in 2014
 Self Sufficient with 100% Voluntary Blood
Donations (One of the 60 countries in the
world) – Since 2013
 One & Only State Health
Institute with ISO
Accredited Laboratories

6. NBTS
Blood
collection
Processing
and
storage
Testing
Clinical
transfusion
medicine
Education
Research
Regulation
Quality
and safety

7. 7
Adequate
Safe
Donor recruitment, retention,
satisfaction and return
Healthy voluntary non-
remunerated blood donors
Blood supply
Quality

8. Capacity building on health communication
Effective communication is important to improve
• Donor motivation, recruitment, retention, satisfaction and return
• Communication among employees – enhance team spirit, better provision of services with
better working environment
Provide training to develop the skills of staff involved in donor communications and education.
• Medical officers
• Public health inspectors
• Nurses
• Health care assistants
• MLTs
• Blood donor campaign organizers/volunteers
• Develop a training programme and materials for staff/volunteers
• Encourage partner organizations to organize cascade training for their members. 8

9. Communication strategies
• Culturally relevant communication interventions to promote voluntary blood
donations.
• Identifying information gaps and communication failures is essential in building
community awareness and confidence in the blood transfusion service.
• Donor information and education campaigns and materials - relevant and
appealing to the different target donor populations
• Posters and leaflets, newspaper articles, public service broadcasting, radio spots and
community theatre.
• Involvement of media and community partners to disseminate them.
• Seek professional assistance in planning and developing information and
education campaigns
• Building partnerships with the media
9

10. Community based platforms
• Community-based institutions and organizations
• Societies, schools, training institutions, universities, workplaces etc.
• understand their members - vital means of communicating with potential donors at local
level.
• help in overcoming many of the socio-cultural constraints to blood donation.
• Stimulate their members to become regular voluntary blood donors & assist in donor
education activities.
• Setting up a community-based blood donor network – with the help of regular
voluntary donors from the community.
• Structured orientation and training package for new community partner organizations.
• Developing suitable messages and materials to encourage them to become regular
voluntary blood donors.
10

11. Behavioral studies - Understanding the blood donors
• Research is an important tool for understanding donors and potential donors.
• Knowledge, attitudes and practice (KAP) surveys - effective means of identifying
factors that need to be addressed in donor information and education.
• Knowledge about blood donation and transfusion, religious values, beliefs and fears,
motivating factors, negative beliefs, misconceptions and superstitions
• Helps to identify specific characteristics, values, beliefs and behaviors of the
general population or specific target donor populations that may impact on
attitudes towards blood donation.
• Involvement of partner organizations with expertise and interest in research will
be helpful.
• Research has to be conducted among
• Tamil and Muslim communities
• Future cord blood donors.
11

12. Educate, motivate and recruit new blood donors
• Provide information to potential donors on
• Why blood is needed
• How it is used
• Current blood stocks
• The blood donation process
• Criteria for donor eligibility
• Locations and operating hours of blood centers and mobile donor sessions.
• Select channels of communication that are mostly likely to appeal to different target donor
populations.
• television, radio, newspapers, magazines, leaflets and posters, websites, social media
• Donor information and education campaigns and materials should address common myths
and fears by providing clear information to allay apprehensions.
• Information in simple language on who can give blood and who may be unsuitable to
donate, either to protect their own health or that of the recipients of their blood.
• Recruitment of young donors/future donors – programmes for potential/future donors -
school, universities, educational institutes.
12

13. Importance of Social Marketing
Social marketing is all about behavioral changes. Steps mainly involved are:
• Consumer-oriented research – mainly donor-oriented
• Marketing analysis – Percentage of voluntary blood donation/organ donation versus
actual numbers of needy patients
• Marketing segmentation
• Objective setting Identification of strategies and tactics – How to handle misconceptions
and how to convince donors.
13

14. Strengthening collaborations and partnerships
• Government departments - Education, Finance, Defense, Youth, Culture, Media, Sports,
National AIDS Control Programme
• Print and broadcast media and information services
• Education and training institutions
• Professional societies and patient associations
• Country-based bilateral aid agencies and international financial donor agencies, including
embassies
• International health and development agencies, including WHO, the IFRC, UNAIDS, the
Global Fund for HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and the World Bank
• Other international organizations, such as the International Federation of Blood Donor
Organizations, International Society of Blood Transfusion and Safe Blood International.
• Work with partners to identify the most appropriate approaches to donor information,
education and community mobilization among their members.
• Establish a mechanism for planning and coordinating activities to ensure consistency,
common standards and cost-effectiveness and avoid the duplication of activities.
14

15. Summery
15
• Improve health communication - staff members and organizers – workshops,
documents
• Improve communication strategies
• donor education and donor recruitment
• Posters, leaflets, videos
• Building up partnerships with media
• Setting up more community-based organizations – information and education
provision
• Surveys to identify the needs of blood/cord blood donors

16. THANK YOU