National Blood Service Of Zimbabwe Becomes The First In Africa To Receive The International Organisation For Standardisation's Certificate On Blood Provision.

The National Blood Service of Zimbabwe (NBSZ) was awarded an International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) 9001-2000 Certificate on the 6 th of June 2007, becoming the first National Blood Service Organisation to receive such an accolade in Africa.

The certificate, valid until March 2010, recognises the Organisation's standards of operation as internationally acceptable. It was also awarded in recognition of the sterling work the Organisation has done in ensuring not only timeous delivery of blood to patients throughout the country's health institutions, but equally that the blood supplies are clinically free of contamination.

It may also be recalled that Zimbabwe was the first country to be recognised as the World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre for blood transfusion, in 1994.

This achievement, coming at a time when the HIV prevalence rate in Zimbabwe has fallen to 18,1% from the previous 33%, is an indication of further improvement in the country's health delivery system.