Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Thursday, Jun 10, 2004
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Thursday, Jun 10, 2004 |
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Industry & Economy
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Health `Media should create awareness on use of only screened blood' Vinson Kurian
Thiruvananthapuram , June 9 PUBLIC health activists are concerned about the presence of what they call the `black sheep' among the medical fraternity who are indifferent to the regulation prescribing only screened blood for transfusion. This is a situation typically suited for concerted intervention by the media, triggering a corrective course of action as well as raising the fraternity's awareness levels, according to the All Kerala Blood Donors Society (KEBS), a leading NGO working for the advancement of a blood donor culture in the State. The media can play a dual role — those of a watchdog and as a pressure group. The field of blood transfusion service, however, entails reporting wrong practices such as transfusion of infected blood on the one hand, and disseminating accurate information on the other. Media messages should be aimed at encouraging first-time donations as well as repeat donations. The `blood fraternity' should always look at pushing its message to the media, telling people that blood is needed during normal times also, and where and how it could be donated. The media, very much like blood, can be broken down into different components. And again, as in transfusion, the fraction that would best do the job can be selected to ensure that the message reached the target audience. Television lends itself as the most appropriate medium, and it is possible to reach sections of the population through channels catering to different audience tastes. The promoters of voluntary blood donation must learn to use the media creatively, not only for publicity but also to build on people's goodwill. For instance, in the case of an accident, if the victim's life was saved by timely transfusion, the media may be persuaded to feature the news, focusing on transfusion as a lifesaving procedure.
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