Paulina Quintao – Three to five people out of 40 people who donated blood each day are found to be Hepatitis B positive, based on new data made available from the National Blood Bank (BNS) of Timor-Leste.
BNS Unit Head, Arsenio Jose said the blood transfusion service is important but some caution needs to be exercised to ensure blood donations are screened for infectious diseases.
He added that any blood units found to be infected with Hepatitis B, HIV and syphilis are immediately destroyed. The healthy blood units are then distributed to health facilities to be transfused to patients in need.
"We give the results back to patients and encourage them to go to a VCCT center for counseling where they are encouraged to undertake treatment," said BNS Unit head Jose in his office, in Bidau, Dili.
In September of 2016 the BNS team collected 299 blood units from volunteers and from families of patients. After screening 17 people were positive with the Hepatitis B virus, 1 person with the Hepatitis C virus, 12 people were positive for syphilis and one (1) person was positive for HIV. All patients are currently undertaking treatment.
He urged also for more volunteers to donate blood regularly to help patients in need and in particular women patients given there has been an increase in women needing blood transfusions but a decline in blood donors.
"Each day they receive 50-60 unit but we can only treat 5-10 patients. The blood stocks are just not sufficient," he said, despite the good will of exiting volunteers and families of patients and the blood drives by the BNS team.
He said the effort of BNS was collecting blood from the patients' family and the volunteers to assure the stock but the reality still not sufficient.
The World Health Organization WHO has also provided BNS with 10 beds for blood donations, 15 blood measuring devices and one blood analysis kit. Some of the equipment will be distributed to the five referral hospitas and the rest will remain at the BNS in Dili.
Anyone weighing over 45 kilograms, in good health and with a blood pressure of 120 per 80 can donate blood.
Meanwhile, resident Carnizo Soares said an awareness raising campaign is very important to raise communities' awareness especially of the young people about different diseases.
"Communities both at the national and rural level lack information about infectious diseases. Our government has not undertaken a national campaign on these diseases," he said.
As for the blood stocks, he urged the BNS to step out of their office and approach institutions such as schools and universities to collect blood.
Dr. Danina Coelho said currently there is no medicine available to treat for Hepatitis B. "The government has not yet imported Entecavir and Tenofovir for hepatitis B treatment," she said.