Identifying and Enrolling Survivors to Donate Blood

unicef-ebola-photo_edited

Survivors are rapidly becoming a strategic population for the Ebola Outbreak response. The public health potential of this group appear to be manifold—from safe burials and the care for orphan children to community outreach and the donation of blood for clinical trials. There are a number of stories emerging from the field of survivors who refuse to leave Ebola Treatment Units, offering their support in caring for new patients. Data regarding the status and experience of survivors is somewhat thin, although anthropological experience of the use of blood for care, and in research, can be called upon. This brief raises a number of questions and suggestions about how best to engage survivors in containment efforts relevant for the procurement of convalescent blood, which is particularly relevant for current clinical trials of this therapeutic method.

2014 / Ebola Response Anthropology Platform


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