Climate change threatens to deprive us of blood

The increasingly frequent extreme events are a clear warning: the world must prepare. Nevertheless, for the consequences of climate change. Furthermore. Meanwhile, The sectors that require a new organization include that of the supply and the supply of blood and blood products. Therefore, There ” blood chain »Risk of breaking, as explained by an article published in the journal Lancet Planet Health.

Threatened donors – Climate change threatens deprive us – Climate change threatens deprive us new

The prerequisite for having blood. Consequently, heterologist blood components is to have a population of healthy donors capable of donating. However, as the climate changes, this population can however decrease significantly for various reasons.

First of all, zoonoses that can be transmitted by transfusion increase. Therefore, With the increase in temperatures, vectors of diseases and dengue have an prolonged life climate change threatens deprive us new cycle and spread. For example. Similarly, International trips and climate change threatens deprive us emigration promote the appearance of epidemics in geographic areas where certain tropical diseases did not exist. In addition, Even changes in bird migration routes, pathogens tanks, such as the Western Nile virus, could play a role. Therefore, it is necessary to modify the screening of donors likely to be unsuitable.

Events such as fires and heat waves can worsen symptoms of allergies (e.g. In addition, asthma) and chronic pathologies (e.g. cardiovascular disease). Traumatic situations can exacerbate mental disorders, increasing anxiety and depression. When people are forced to leave their homes after an extreme event. they may suffer from difficult living conditions (overcrowding and unsanitary conditions), as well as malnutrition. This can make blood donation difficult or even impossible.

Finally. extreme weather conditions. other climatic fluctuations can influence key physiological factors, such as hemoglobin, hematocrit and blood climate change threatens deprive us new pressure, affecting the ability of the donor.

Complicated operations

Admitting that climate change threatens deprive us we manage to obtain a donation. the blood must be preserved, transported, tested and treated in an optimal state, starting with temperature. The ability to maintain the cold chain is also essential to preserve the reagents necessary for its analysis. to ensure the safety of the ready -to -use therapeutic product.

Floods, hurricanes, pandemics and other similar disasters can damage health infrastructure and communication routes. Health personnel involved in the sample. treatment. management of blood products may be reduced by the physical and psychological impacts of extreme events, which affect both donors and health professionals.

Jointly with the difficulty of supply. the demand for total blood. blood products can increase because natural disasters lead to an increase in the number of traumatized and surgical patients and those requiring transfusions for other reasons (eg complications climate change threatens deprive us new of pregnancy).

New problems. new solutions

« These climate change threatens deprive us climate -related stressors. which range from the increase in the transmission of vector transmission diseases to infrastructure disturbances and to the variation in donor eligibility, do not act in isolation. Rather, they create a combined effect that questions the blood supply system on several levels », Stress the authors.

They then identify some of the possible solutions. such as having an emergency plan. preparing before the extreme event occurs (for example, providing rescue supply systems for storage facilities), by encouraging the use of autologous blood in planned surgical interventions to reduce blood demand, using mobile blood banks to collect donations on the crisis site and transportation.

With regard to the problem of infections transmitted by vectors. experts believe that new screening tests. questionnaires updated on donors, updated eligibility criteria, by finding a balance between transfusion climate change threatens deprive us new safety and the widening of the eligible donor basin, and climate change threatens deprive us inactivation technologies of pathogens may be necessary. “” The inactivation of pathogens offers a substantial advantage by improving the safety of plasma products. effectively inactivating a wide range of microorganisms. including emerging and unknown threats “Write Elvina Viennet And his colleagues, adding that this strategy could help maintain a pool of more stable donors while guaranteeing the highest safety standards for blood and blood products.

The authors conclude their examination with these words: ” These multiple challenges highlight the importance of global. adaptable strategies that deal with direct and indirect effects of climate change on safety and blood supply. The strengthening of the resilience of the blood supply chain will be essential to ensure a constant. safe supply of blood and blood products, in a context of constantly evolving climatic threats. climate change threatens deprive us new »

This article has been translated fromUnivadis.it. The content was reviewed by the editorial staff before publication.