Florida group establishes world blood bank for kids - Health - Children's World Blood Bank - Brief Article

Community Action, April 15, 2002

MIAMI -- South Florida blood repositories and three Nobel Peace Prize winners launched the Children's World Blood Bank, aimed at ensuring a secure supply of safe blood for children in the developing world.

The Novel laureates are former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former Costa Rican President Oscar Arias who were at the blood bank's opening.

South Florida Blood Banks President John Flynn believes the new bank will save the lives of more than 10,000 children a year. He will seek the cooperation of airlines in transporting blood products and he hopes to raise several million dollars for the project over the next year.

The World Health Organization says 80 percent of the world's population has access to only 20 percent of the world's safe blood. The United States says transfusions of unsafe blood are behind 40 percent of HIV/AIDS cases in children over age one.