Taiwan Blood Donation Program: A Model for Development

Abstract

In 1974, the Taiwan National Blood Program had not yet been fully developed. The volunteer donor base was less than 5% and there was no organized national structure or regulation of blood services. Following the founding of the Blood Donation Association and the Blood Services Foundation, promotion of an all-volunteer blood program, increased utilization of blood components and the standardization of laboratory methods were strategies that led to the development of the Taiwan National Blood Program. In 1991, 1,066,082 units of blood were collected in Taiwan, serving a population of about 20 million. There are currently 6 major blood centers and 13 blood stations. Blood donation is now 100% volunteer and 78% of all blood collected is separated into 10 available components. With national organization and regulation, the transition has taken 17 years and has resulted in a community-based, all-volunteer blood supply.

Challenge of donor recruitment

“…The 500 ml donation is limited to the donors over 60 kg of body weight. The collection of blood in Taiwan has evolved from the dependence on monetary compensation to total voluntary donation [1]. In 2008, there were 1AE8 million donations with 34% from 500 ml collections.…”

Meta Review on the Effect of Iron Deficiency on Blood Donor

“…Blood donors in Taiwan will lose approximately 125 mg of iron every time they donate 250 ml of total blood. [10,11,12,13] The iron lost during blood donation is usually supplemented through daily diet. Regular long-term blood donors who lack nutritional knowledge and dietary behavior deviation are likely to cause insufficient iron intake.…”

Elimination of Pay Donation of the Blood in Taiwan

“…The program has progressed well and the collection of do nors continues to grow annually [1], In 1989, 832,513 units (units of whole blood = 250 ml) were collected, marking an index of dona tions of 41.4 per 1,000 population, which was close to the levels of the Americas and Eu rope [3]. It seems that an adequate amount of blood may have been drawn at this time, de spite the fact that periods of blood shortage were still present and paid donors were not completely eradicated.…”

“…Recently Vox Sanguinis has published an article: 'Taiwan Blood Donation Program: A Model for Development' [1] and another 'The National Blood Program of Taiwan, ROC' [2], discussing a successful model of blood program in Taiwan, will appear in the next issue. Here I would like to provide some additional data in witness of its success from the user side of view.…”