Impact of War: Reflections on Blood Transfusion Services in Bosnia and Herzegovina 1992-2002

Abstract

This paper looks at the basic problems in blood transfusion Services in post war Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). As background, a brief summary is given of the prewar context The paper then examines the situation during the war 1992-1995 and the post war period until 2002, a decade of different challenging changes. Comparisons between these 3 periods highlight the way war has an impact on the organization and function of blood transfusion institutions and Services.

The impact of war has resulted in difficulties in: motivating blood donors, setting one strategy for the whole country, developing common standards, having a lack of legislation, the education and training of personnel, developing quality management and control, the financing of Services and institutions, having an increase in the demand for blood and blood components but fewer resources, and in inefficient and ineffective country wide organization linked to poor management.