Doctoral Dissertation Research: Priorities in the Safety and Sustainability of Blood Banks

Brown University, Providence RI

Investigators

Abstract

Many life-saving medical treatments rely on an adequate and safe blood supply for transfusion, during childbirth, surgery, emergency care, and therapy for patients with blood-based diseases. A finite resource, blood relies on volunteer donors and successful public outreach campaigns. Blood services must also ensure the safety of the supply, namely monitoring the donation process to prevent the transmission of blood borne infections (including HIV) and mitigating adverse health effects on patients and donors. Focusing on the concerns of sustainability and safety, this project will examine various practical and social aspects of blood supply, ranging from donor marketing and recruitment to the implementation of donor management information systems, as well as the efficient hospital use of blood. Findings from this project, which trains a graduate student in methods of empirical, scientific data collection and analysis, will be disseminated to organizations that manage and develop policy related to blood safety practices. The research also fosters international scientific cooperation, and will broaden participation of an underrepresented group in the sciences. Emily Avera, under the supervision of Dr. Sherine Hamdy of Brown University, will explore what factors are prioritized in the maintenance of safety in blood banks. The project will take place primarily in South Africa, where the blood services have established one of the most stringent and effective blood safety systems in the world. Blood safety officials' are concerned with diversity and sustainability. They advocate for increased donor participation from a more diverse cross-section of the populace (e.g. youth, various ethnicities), as matter of sustainability not only for social representation, but to also leverage the statistical correlation of different blood types with certain populations. Equipped with anthropology training, the researcher is well positioned to address the pertinent cultural and symbolic meanings attached to blood, alongside the social issues related to health equity and safety. In addition to an incredibly diverse population, South African blood services must also reckon with chief societal challenges such as high HIV prevalence and equitable resource distribution. To analyze how South African institutions have dealt with these challenges, the researcher will conduct regular long-term observation and data collection of activities in blood services' offices, donor outreach drives, blood safety NGO's, and a public hospital hematology unit, as well as interviews with organizational staff, patients, and donors. The researcher will also analyze relevant educational materials and media to assess linguistic and cultural aspects of developing effective, scientifically sound public communication about blood safety and donation. The findings of this project will directly contribute to evaluating and improving donor outreach and education, safety measures, blood service information management, and efficient and equitable distribution of the blood supply not only in South Africa, but in a majority of countries - including the U.S. - where transfusion medicine is used.