The Role of Laboratories and Blood Banks in Disaster Situations

Emergencies and disaster situations require a rapid and timely response by the health services. For several years, the Pan American Health Organization has promoted the development of activities to reduce vulnerability of the health sector to disasters and to strengthen emergency and disaster pre-paredness plans.

Recent disasters in Central America, such as Hurricanes Mitch and Georges in 1998 and the El Salvador earthquake in 2001, have underscored the importance of including the activities of public health laboratories, clinical laboratories, and blood banks in the health sector's emergency plans.

The purpose of this guide is to sensitize and orient health authorities, laboratory directors, laboratory technicians, and blood bank personnel to the identification of responsibilities and functions of laboratory and blood bank services in disaster situations, taking into account priorities, needs, and the local capacity for immediate response.

The response of health services to disaster situations will be improved when activities to mitigate and reduce vulnerability and to restore and reorganize laboratory and blood bank services are incorporated in emergency plans.

To obtain a bound copy othe this book, please contact the PAHO Disaster Program (disaster-publications@paho.org), or it can be downloaded here in PDF file: Laboratories.pdf (7910 Kb).

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