Blood: Agreement on race risk
2004-12-10 19:59
Pretoria - Race was unacceptable in determining the health risk posed by donated blood, the department of health and the SA National Blood Transfusion Service decided in Pretoria on Friday.
The two parties met to discuss the use of race as a risk-indicating factor in donated blood.
The SANBS admitted that its risk management programme was flawed because it weighted heavily on the basis of race as a risk factor, SANBS chief executive officer Anton Heyns said in a statement.
"This is excellent, I see this as a great step forward," Heyns said, commenting on the decision.
Revised risk model
SANBS, the department of health, the Medical Research Council, the National Health Laboratory Services and other experts would constitute an expert committee next week and develop a risk model which does not take race into account, Heyns said.
The revised risk model was expected to be completed by the end of January 2005.
Heyns stressed that the department of health and SANBS would ensure that the safety of donated blood would remain a "major priority" and would not be compromised.
The meeting agreed that it was necessary for the health system to be in line with the constitution, which forbids all forms of discrimination and promotes access to quality health care for all South Africans.
- SAPA