Resolve blood shortage crisis to end suffering, urges lobby

The Association of Women Accountants of Kenya (Awak) has urged the government to urgently address the chronic shortage of blood in the country.

Awak chairperson Georgina Malombe said the shortage had exposed pregnant women and children to grave risks.

She said the two groups bear the brunt of the blood shortage after donors withdrew funding that has been supporting the blood transfusion programme.

She  said after the withdrawal of the donor funds, the country’s  blood collection services and 18 national  testing  laboratories sites have been left in a limbo. 

“We cannot continue to risk the lives of  pregnant women anymore, we are aware that mothers of child-bearing ages bear the risk of dying, in the natural course of bringing a life,  because of postpartum hemorrhage while both the county and national governments have remained silent on how to resolve the ongoing crisis, most of the amenities are in quandary since they have also run out of the automated screening reagent,” she said.

She was addressing journalists on the sidelines of the 5th Annual Awak women leadership and governance conference at a Mombasa hotel, yesterday

Arrest culprits

Nominated Senator Farhiya Haji Ali  asked the government to take action against officials who are behind the misappropriation of donor funds.

“We are aware that the withdrawal of the funds was a result of misuse of funds and lack of accountability.

We urge the government to speed up investigations and arrest those behind the misappropriation of funs,” she said. 

She further called on the government, to come up with a backup plan for blood collection and testing.

Diminished collection

“Let the government treat this issue with the urgency it deserves, since the ongoing crisis has been plagued by lack of funds for screening, tools and human resources to collect and store blood,”she said.

According to head of regional blood transfusion center Hamisi Kithi, Mombasa is severely affected by the blood shortage.

According to Chief officer of Health Dr Khadija Shikely, last year alone nine women in Mombasa died of postpartum hemorrhage, a situation she said could have been averted if there was enough blood. 

A government report in December warned of the impending risk, saying that “the national blood transfusion service stands at risk of extremely diminished collection” and called for “urgent funding from the exchequer”. But the funding was not provided on time. 

Based on World Health Organisation guidelines for the proportion of donors relative to total population, Kenya should be collecting as much as one million units of blood a year.

In addition, in 2018, 77 per cent  of people who donated blood were first-time donors.

Repeat blood donors are better as they ensure a regular supply of blood and reduce the cost and effort involved in trying to find first-time donors.