BCF - Members - Chairman's Annual Report

Throughout 2005 members of the Blood Care Programme (BCP) called on the services of the Blood Care Foundation (BCF) to provide emergency transfusion cover after they had been involved in road accidents or other trauma or had some medical condition requiring treatment with a blood transfusion. In addition, during 2005 more than 200 people were killed and over 1,000 injured by terrorist attacks. The immediate appeal for blood donors once again emphasised the acute shortage of blood in the countries concerned. This remains a major problem despite strenuous efforts being made to increase the number of donors. This was one of the major reasons for the creation of BCP.

The problems of availability are even more acute for those who are Rhesus Negative when visiting Asia. Few people realise this blood group is virtually absent from the Asian population, so local blood banks are dependent on obtaining blood of this type from the expatriate population. Consequently BCF holds stocks of Rhesus Negative blood in its Asian blood banks.

Even when local blood is available, in many countries there is a major problem with quality. Diseases such as HIV, hepatitis and malaria are endemic and over a thousand times more prevalent than in Europe and the USA. In some countries the total health care budget is less than the UK and USA spend on their transfusion services. Couple these factors with the ever-increasing cost of blood testing and this inevitably increases the risk of transfusion transmitted diseases.

On the 2nd June 2005, Kofi Annan expressed the deep concern felt by the United Nations about this problem. He said: “Last year (2004) saw more new infections and AIDS-related deaths than ever before. The fight against AIDS may be the great challenge of our age and our generation. Only if we meet this challenge can we succeed in our efforts to build a humane, healthy and equitable world. Let us ensure we are equal to that task”. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has also highlighted this problem when stating 149 countries in the world have incomplete blood transfusion quality systems. For this reason blood for the BCP is only drawn from Blood Centres whose quality systems meet the standards set by the American Association of Blood Banks, the International Society of Blood Transfusion and the FDA.

BLOOD BANK NETWORK

The Foundation’s blood bank in Hong Kong has been created to meet the demands for blood and, in particular, Rhesus Negative blood in that region. Its blood banks in Nigeria not only meet the needs of BCP members, but also provide support to the local population.

As a prelude to being granted an import licence to take blood into China, further discussions were held in Beijing with the Health Authorities and the site of a suitable location for the first BCF blood bank selected. When approval has been received for this project the local blood banking staff will be trained, prior to the installation of a blood bank and the start of blood deliveries.

The BCF Alarm Centre plays a crucial role in responding to an emergency call for blood and in co-ordinating the appropriate response. To ensure the response of the Alarm centre staff is as efficient and as effective as possible, BCF maintains an ongoing training programme.

Each member of the BCP has a membership card on which is printed the telephone number to be called if an emergency transfusion is required. In addition to the provision of blood, the Treating Doctor has immediate access to a consultancy service enabling him to discuss any transfusion problem with a BCF transfusion consultant. This gives him access to the latest techniques in transfusion medicine, for the direct benefit of the patient concerned.

TRANSFUSION SUPPORT LOCATIONS (TSL's)

When joining the BCP, each corporate member is offered 10 sets of transfusion equipment to be placed in those locations where they consider their staff and families to be at the greatest risk, as even these simple, sterile supplies, are not always available in some countries.

These are provided free of charge on the understanding they will be made available to any BCP member in an emergency. As these supplies are now being located in nearly 80 countries, we are steadily increasing our world-wide coverage. When these supplies are routinely replaced some 6 months prior to their expiry date, the old stock is donated to a local charitable hospital or clinic.

RABIES

Rabies, a disease which, if not treated correctly and as quickly as possible, is invariably fatal, continues to cause problems in Asia, Africa and South America. People going to areas where the disease is endemic can be immunised prior to travel. However, this does not offer 100% protection so, if someone might have been exposed to a rabid animal, they may well require further treatment with rabies immunoglobulin and vaccine.

To meet this need BCF has set up a service to provide BCP members with rabies vaccine and immunoglobulin. Our couriers are trained in the administration of these so that members are not only protected from this fatal disease, but frequently avoid the inconvenience and expense of evacuation.

DELIVERIES OF BLOOD AND RABIES IMMUNISATION

The key to BCF providing a first-class delivery service requires::

There has been a marked increase during 2005 in the utilisation of the consultancy service, described above. This has allowed a number of treating doctors to obtain up-to-date advice on complicated Transfusion Medicine issues.

Since its establishment, growth of the Foundation’s services has been limited by the income received from its membership base. Corporate membership fees continue to provide a vital part of the Foundation’s income. However, if it is to respond positively to the many new demands being made on its services, particularly from Africa and the Far East, and to maintain the highest standards of quality in all aspects of its work, the Foundation will need to seek the support of sponsors and donations.

During the year a number of BCP Corporate Members expressed worries about the unexpected need to pay for several deliveries of blood. This could upset the financial provisions made on their cost-centre balance sheets. They asked whether we could find a way to underwrite these financial uncertainties.

The average cost of an emergency blood delivery is £3000 - £4,000. Indications are the cost of covering this risk will be relatively very low. It is hoped to introduce this protection early in 2006.

SOPs, as mentioned above, are vital to the efficient performance of the Foundation’s services. These are continually revised so as to conform with any new regulation and to keep them in line with the highest international standards. It is against these SOPs that our Quality Assurance Manager performs his annual Internal Audit.

As part of its charitable activities the Foundation’s Quality Assurance Manager trains local transfusion staff when he visits different blood bank locations. These sessions are invaluable in helping local staff improve their own service, for the benefit of the country concerned.

During 2005, BCF was invited to make a number of presentations to groups of Managing Directors of local national and expatriate companies in Nigeria, clearly indicating their active concern for the welfare of their staff in the country.

Presentations were also made to organisations in Hong Kong and Singapore, which are very concerned about the risks run when their staff are travelling in other countries in their respective regions of Asia. As mentioned before, this is of particular concern if the member of staff has the Rhesus Negative blood group.

These concerns, which are typical of those expressed in a number of other countries, have led the Foundation to consider ways in which the entire population of a nation can be protected when travelling away from their own country. Work is continuing on this programme and it is expected the first formal proposal will be made in 2006.

Corporate medical and human resources staff continue to appreciate the précis of articles from current medical journals and circulated in the BCF Occasional Newsletter.

2005 saw further improvements to the Foundation’s website providing information about its charitable and other services. It is planned to expand the website in 2006, to be more pro-active in attracting corporate members and as a useful reference point for potential donors.

The Trustees were very sorry to lose the services of Mrs C. Elizabeth M. Cairns, one of their fellow Trustees, during the year. Mrs Cairns, who is one of the leading specialists in charity law, has closed her private practice to join a major firm of charity lawyers. Although her regular advice will be sorely missed, Mrs Cairns has generously offered to continue to advise and support the Foundation in the future. On behalf of my fellow Trustees, I should like to thank Mrs Cairns for her invaluable advice and enthusiastic support for the work of the Foundation over the years and to wish her every success with her new responsibilities

Time is of inestimable value to us all. The Foundation’s Trustees willingness to make their knowledge, skill and experience available throughout the year has been outstanding. It is my privilege to thank each one of them as well as all my other colleagues for their unflagging advice, encouragement and support in 2005. This has enabled the Foundation to end the year in a very positive vein.

The continued interest in the work of the Foundation and the increasing use of its services experienced this year highlight its value to people facing an emergency in many different countries. This expression of confidence encourages us all to ensure the quality and range of the Charity’s services offered in 2006 will be even higher than in the year just past.

Michael G. Bruce
Chairman of the Trustees