Pakistan receives less than half of the five million blood donations it needs each year, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday, highlighting critical gaps in the country’s health care system as it vowed to promote voluntary donations.
About 1.9 million of Pakistan’s 2.3 million annual blood donations come from family or replacement donors, while only 18 percent are voluntary and unpaid, according to official data cited by the WHO.
This reliance often delays treatment and poses risks for patients with chronic conditions such as thalassemia, hemophilia and cancer, who require regular transfusions.
“Medical centers in Pakistan need over 5 million blood donations annually and will require 5.6 million by 2030 but they are currently receiving only approximately 2.3 million donations per year,” the WHO said in a statement released on World Blood Donor Day.
The WHO and Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences held a blood donation drive in which around 150 volunteers participated under the theme “Give blood, give hope – together we save lives.”
As per the WHO, voluntary blood donations are considered the safest and most sustainable as such donors are less likely to transmit infectious diseases, it added. WHO’s representative in Pakistan, Dr. Dapeng Luo, highlighted that each blood donation could save up to three lives.
“Every patient who needs blood should be able to receive it,” he said. “WHO will continue to work with Pakistan to strengthen a blood service that promotes voluntary donations and gives patients access to safe blood and blood products in sufficient quantity.”
Pakistan’s health ministry and the WHO urged the public to donate blood voluntarily to help address a shortage that is straining hospitals’ ability to save lives.
Pakistan’s Director General of Health, Shabana Saleem, welcomed the technical support from the WHO, saying it would lead to improved screening and testing.
“Giving blood is giving life, and together we can do this,” she said. “We are in the phase of revitalizing the Regional Blood Transfusion Center.”
The WHO concluded that it was supporting Pakistan in strengthening blood banks and promoting standardized screening methods to ensure safe and sufficient blood supplies for all.