Was an honor to speak at #SimposioCS in Bauru Brazil on #Craniofacial surgery and #Globalsurgery #Apert

Strong work Maria P. Cote - thank you for your phenomenal leadership and work with our team.

Always a wonderful time at the Harvard Surgery Research Day, and happy to share our work from Mass General Surgery Leigh Anne Dageforde and HarvardGlobalSurgery Nakul Raykar ✨ Also, a personal highlight was to see one of my best friends and co-fellows Jorge L. Gómez-Mayorga win best Oral Presentation!!!

A team of researchers met with Medical Services Chief Officer Dr Gilchrist Lokoel & senior health officers, as they embarked on the 2nd phase of the civilian walking blood bank (CWBB) study.

A CWBB is a pre-screened health blood donor who can be mobilised for emergency transfusion needs. This will be ideal for the hard-to-reach areas and ensure blood supply in cases of emergencies.

The study, also known as the Local Initiative For Emergency Blood (LIFE-Blood), aims to establish an Emergency Transfusion Protocol for CWBB at Lodwar Referral.

Study is funded by the Gillian Reny Stepping Strong Center for Trauma Innovation. Partners @BrighamWomen, Harvard Medical School Program in Global Surgery, Strathmore University, Blood Desert Coalition & Kenya Tissue and Transplant Authority

Our BMJ Global Health commentary highlights the vital role of rapid diagnostic testing in safe blood access, especially in low-resource settings. Governments must tackle chronic deficiencies to bridge disparities: tinyurl.com/zpjuepwr📄

Share the word! #RDT #BDC #GlobalHealth

🩸 How can we improve blood supply and healthcare access? We propose analyzing blood bank distribution, capturing accurate blood demand, and studying region-specific needs. Join the conversation! #BloodSupply #HealthcareAccess 💡

Accurately measuring blood unavailability poses challenges. Factors include unclear definitions of demand versus need, lack of standardized ordering practices during scarcity, and difficulty quantifying prehospital blood needs.

Blood deserts are areas in which over 75% of transfusion requirements remain unmet, often due to lack of timely & affordable access to blood. Let's explore what contributes to blood unavailability 🩸💡 #BloodDesert #HealthcareAccess

In a rural hospital in Kenya, a patient from a road accident arrives with severe injuries. The surgeon urgently requests blood, but none is available. Discover why blood access is a surgeon's problem in our recent article published in ACS Bulletin: tinyurl.com/4jmc64bd 🩸🏥

Looking forward to discussing surgical management of #Pheochromocytoma and #Paraganglioma with the Pheo Para Alliance Peer Support Group!

Beautifully said.

10 YEARS! 💙🩷💛

#TurningTragedyIntoHope #10Years #Decade #InjuryPrevention
Brigham and Women's Hospital Mass General Brigham

Learn more about the Stepping Strong Center here steppingstrong.bwh.harvard.edu

See more from Stepping Strong Co-Founders, Audrey Epstein Reny and Gillian Reny:

So fortunate to team with an incredible set of folks passionate about stopping unnecessary death in the worlds neglected Blood Desert Coalition. Grateful for the support of Stepping Strong Center HarvardGlobalSurgery Brigham and Women's Hospital Read more at blooddesertcoalition.org

“As a trauma surgeon in Boston, I cannot fathom not having blood for our patients when they arrive after major injury. Unfortunately, this is the reality in most of the world, and people die unnecessary deaths,”

- 2023 Stepping Strong Breakthrough Awardee Nakul Raykar, MD, MPH

A paper detailing the recommendations of a new global collaborative, named the Blood D.E.S.E.R.T. Coalition, was published in The Lancet Global Health

Read more here brighamandwomens.org/about-bwh/news…

Collaborators include Ali Salim, MD, and Zara Cooper, MD, MSci

Excited to showcase our recommendations in The Lancet Global Health: Innovative Blood Transfusion Strategies to Address Global Blood Deserts. Dive in & let us know your thoughts! #BloodTransfusion #HealthcareAccess 🌐📷 The Lancet Global Health Nakul Raykar Vanitha Raguveer

thelancet.com/journals/langl…

Brings back memories of working in rural India 25 yrs ago; 40 km & 4 hrs to the nearest bldbank on a good day. Grt to part of the transnational Blood Desert Coalition that is focused on access & availability to blood. Nakul Raykar Vanitha Raguveer #Gratitude The Lancet Global Health thelancet.com/journals/langl…