Unit shortage of blood in low and middle income countries (LMICs) across the world

1 out of 4

Maternal deaths in LMICs are as​sociated with post-partum he​morrhage

20-40%

Trauma mortality in LMICs compared to 1-2% in the United States, the majority due to hemorrhage

50​-80%

of sickle cell anemia patients will die before the age of 5 in sub-Saharan Africa. With timely blood transfusion, this is a treatable condition.

Fly blood where needed,

when needed.

Drone Blood Delivery

Blood

D.E.s.e.r.t

Coalition

“The blood deserts of Bihar ​and implications for ​postpartum hemorrhage ​care” in The Journal of ​AABB, Transfusion

Read it here >>>

Read our Consensus Statement Published in The Lancet Global Health

Read it here >>>

NPR’s Profile on our Work: ​“Here are 3 solutions to get ​blood to folks in 'blood ​deserts.' One is often illegal”

Read it here >>>

The Guardian’s Coverage ​of Blood Deserts and the ​BDC’s Work in Rural ​Kenya

Read it here >>>

Our response in BMJ Global ​Health to the WHO’s Recent ​Framework on Managing ​Blood in Emergency ​Situations

Read it here >>>

Blood Desert Coalition Webinar & Live Q+A

September 2024

Chair, Blood D.E.S.E.R.T Coalition

Nakul P. Raykar, MD, MPH

Assistant Professor of Surgery, Harvard Medical School Trauma Surgeon, Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Fellowship Director, Harvard Medical School Program in Global Surgery and Social Change

nraykar@bwh.harvard.edu

Lead, Advocacy & Communications Division

Caroline Wesonga, MSc, MA

National Blood Ambassador for Kenya

Team Lead, Coalition of Blood for Africa and grassroots policy advocate for social inequalities and blood availability

Lead, Drone-Based Blood Delivery Division

Lucy Asamoah-Akuoko, MD, MPH, PhD

Director, Research, Planning, Monitoring & Evaluation; National ​Blood Service Ghana. Principal Investigator of NIH BLOODSAFE in ​Ghana. Director of Research, Development and Projects for the ​Ghana-based Centre for Science and Health Communication

Co-Lead, Defining Blood Deserts Division

Nobhojit Roy, MS, MPH, PhD

General and Trauma Surgeon from Mumbai, India and ​WHO Technical Officer in Operative Care, Clinical ​Services and Systems. Lancet Commissioner in Global ​Surgery and Poverty Commission for NCD Injuries

Co-Lead, Walking Blood Banks Division

Colonel Andrew P. Cap, USA, Ret., MS, MD, Ph​D, FA​CP

Director of Research/Chief Scientific Officer, US Ar​my Institute of Surgical Research; Hematology-Oncolo​gy Consultant to the US Army Surgeon General; Professor ​of Medicine, Uniformed Services Universi​t​y

Co-Lead, Walking Blood Banks Division

Linda S. Barnes, DrPH, MHA

Implementation expert in advanced cellular therapies ​and blood transfusion continuum; Consultant to AABB, ​PAHO and emerging biotherapeutic companies.

Co-Lead, Defining Blood Deserts Division

Meghan Delaney, DO, MPH

Chief of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine Division at ​Children’s National Hospital, Professor in the departments of ​Pathology & Pediatrics at The George Washington University, ​Chair of the NIH BLOODSAFE Program

Lead, Intraoperative Autotransfusion Division

Joy Mammen, MD

Professor in Department of Transfusion Medicine at Christian Medical College Vellore, Expert Consultant for National Blood Transfusion Council of India and WHO

Chief Fellow

Nikathan Kumar MD, MS

Paul Farmer Global Surgery Research Fellow at the Harvard ​Medical School Program in Global Surgery and Social Change ​and General Surgery Resident at UCSF East Bay

Liaison, Sisu Global Health

Asma Aliawadh, MBBS, MHM, MIPH

Medical Officer of Health for Langata and Kibera Sub-​Counties in Kenya, Senior Training Consultant and Master ​Trainer with Hemafuse from Sisu Global Health Limited

Juan Carlos Puyana, MD, FRCSC, FACS, FACCP

O’Brien Chair of Global Surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland University of Medicine and Health Sciences; Professor of Trauma Surgery at University of Pittsburgh; Principal Investigator of NIH BLOODSAFE in Kenya

Gatare Swaibu MD

Director of Biomedical Services at Rwanda Biomedical Centre, Medical Doctor at Rwandan Ministry of Health

Wendy Williams, JD

Senior Project Manager, Global Surgery, Center for Surgery and Public Health at Brigham and Women's Hospital

Franco Sacchi

Award-winning documentary ​filmmaker and filmmaking educator

Claude Tayou Tagny, MD, MS, MSc

Professor of Haematology and Transfusion Medicine at the University of Yaoundé, head of the hematology and blood transfusion service at Yaoundé University Teaching Hospital

Vijay Anand Ismavel, MS, MCh

Mission Network Consultant at Christian Medical College Vellore, retired Consultant Surgeon with Makunda Christian Hospital and Autotransfusion Pioneer

Dilys Walker, MD

Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, Director of Global Health Research for the Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health, Director for the Institute of Global Health Science Center for Global Maternal Newborn Child Health Research at University of California, San Francisco

Gilchrist Lokoel, MPA, MSc

Chief Officer Medical Services, Turkana County, Kenya and previously Medical Superintendent of Lodwar County Referral Hospital

Yetmgeta Eyayou Abdella, MD, MPH

Medical Officer for Blood and other Products of Human Origin at WHO Regional Office for Eastern Mediterranean

Marie Paul Nisingwe PhD

University of British Columbia, Canada, Consultant for USAID “Together for Health” Project and World Bank

Chief Fellow,

Nikathan Kumar

MD, MS

Walking Blood Banks

Lead Fellow,

Riya Sawhney

MBChB

Priyansh Nathani

MBBS

Sidra Inam

MBBS

Marisa DelSignore

BA

Advocacy & Communications

Co-Lead Fellow,

Isita Tripathi

BS

A​yla Gerk

M​D

Co-Lead Fellow,

Rahul Burra

BA

Defining Blood Deserts

Lead Fellow,

Siddhesh Zadey

BS, MSc-GH

Vanitha Raghuveer

BS

Drone Delivery

Lead Fellow,

Siva Emani

BA, MS

Sargun Virk

MBBS

Harshit Arora

MBBS

Intraoperative Autotransfusion

Lead Fellow,

Fleming Mathew

MBBS

Aulina Chowdhury

DO, MA, MS

Blood

D.E.s.e.r.t

Coalition

Email Inquiries

@BloodDeserts

https://www.linkedin.com/company/blood-desert-coalition

@blooddesertcoalition