Grace Natabaalo
19 June 2008
Kampala — Hospitals in western Uganda have been hit by an acute shortage of blood which has also left two children dead in a health centre in Bundibugyo District. "Two children have died this week in Nyahuka Health Centre IV from anaemia and we were promised blood by Wednesday," Dr Jennifer Myhre of Nyahuka Health Centre IV told Daily Monitor in an e-mail last week.
"We sent a person to receive it(blood) but he was told the "cooler" was missing, and was sent back empty-handed." She said they had been transferred from Bundibugyo Hospital to the smaller Nyahuka Health Centre IV in futile search for blood for a transfusion.
She said a few phone calls revealed there was neither blood in the district nor in Fort Portal.
"I was told that the supplies had run dry because of a lack of supply of small sterile plastic packages that the blood is stored in."
Most hospitals in Uganda are facing blood shortage which is leading to the death of many people.
According to the Fort Portal regional blood bank manager, Mr John Aliguma, the shortage is not something new.
The blood bank which serves Kasese, Kabarole, Bundibugyo, Kyenjojo, Kibaale and Kamwenge districts however lacks enough blood. Mr Aliguma said on Monday that the shortage of blood has been going on for about a month. He however emphasised that the shortage did not mean that there was no blood at all. Mr Aliguma said since most of the blood is donated by students while at school, there was a shortage when students are home for holidays.
According to Dr Myhre, there is a high need for blood transfusion because of various ailments like malaria, sickle cell and malnutrition among others. While marking the World Blood Donor Day last week, the Director of the Blood Transfusion Services, Mr Peter Kaataha, said Uganda needs at least 180,000 units of blood per year to cater for the increasing demand in hospitals.
Uganda's blood collection has increased over the years from 7,000 units of blood in 1989, to the current 150,000 but the country still experiences a shortfall of 30,000 units annually.
Of the 150,000 units collected annually, over 25 per cent is given to pregnant women or those with child birth related complications like over bleeding while the 50 per cent is given to children who become anaemic because of malaria and other illnesses. The rest of the blood is used on accident victims, and patients who undergo surgery.
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