This web seminar reviews the progress on the implementation of the Regional Plan for Access to Safe Blood and discuss the impact of COVID-19 on blood supply to contribute to the implementation of best practices in blood donation and adequate management of blood supply in health services in the Caribbean countries during the pandemic and beyond.
The results presented provide an overview of aspects related to coverage, access, and availability of safe blood as week as compliance with serological screening of infectious diseases, and components fractionation. Moreover, this seminar assess the mechanisms for orientation, surveillance, and control of the entire blood management process. This will allow a better characterization of blood donation, processing, and use in the Region and sub-regions through a comparative analysis for the two reporting years.
- PAHO/WHO Regional Report and impact of COVID-19 in Latin-American blood services - Mauricio Beltrán
- Progress on the regional safe blood plan and impact of COVID-19 in blood services, blood donation during the pandemic, donor selection, measures for donor safety and blood supply, results and lessons learned on Belize, Guyana and, Trinidad and Tobago - Adrian Martinez, Pedro Lewis and Kennet Chales
- Adrian Humberto Martinez — Belize National Blood Transfusion Service Supervisor
- Pedro Lewis — Director of the National Blood Transfusion Service of Guyana.
- Keneth Chales — Senior Lecturer in Haematology and former Director of the National Blood Transfusion Service of Trinidad and Tobago.
- Mauricio Beltrán — Regional Advisor for blood and transplant services PAHO/WHO