The causes of death in most rural communities can be attributed to very trivial issues, not least blood transfusion. As simplistic as this may be, yet it is the cause of death of many vulnerable people in rural communities.

Kabala, the headquarters of Koinadugu District, has the unenviable reputation of being one of the remotest districts in the country. This characterisation is manifested in many development and basic healthcare issues, including blood transfusion and complication arising from it in hospitals and health centre dotted around the large land mass of the district, one of the largest in the country.

The District Health Sister at the Kabala Government Hospital, Jattu B. Sellu, has disclosed to Concord Times in an exclusive interviewed that the district has the highest death rate as a result of blood complication.

The nursing sister opined that local beliefs and taboos restrict residents from donating blood to those in need. She estimated that only about 15% of pregnant women would develop complications during child birth, while 5% of pregnant women would need blood transfusion during caesarean operations.

She appealed to residents to donate blood, so as to mitigate the issue of blood complication which causes deaths in the district.

According to the Chiefdom Speaker in one of the chiefdoms in the township, Brima T. Marah, most victims who are denied access to blood transfusion as a result of a depleted blood bank in the district are from remote villages.

He also appealed to the community to donate blood gratis: "If you donate blood to someone, you have saved the life of a particular individual."

He called on non-governmental organizations to raise awareness on the issue, which poses a serious concern to the lives of women and children. In particular, he urged that local beliefs and taboos should be tackled in order to transform behaviour and attitude toward donating blood.

The appeal is not farfetched, and is imperative, if reports, such as a father denying to donate blood to his eighteen month old son, who eventually died, are to be taken seriously. Meanwhile, our sources revealed that the blood bank at the Kabala Government Hospital is depleted, and that health authorities have been calling on local residents to donate blood and save the lives of those in need of it.

Recently, MamaYe campaign, a non-governmental organization working in the district to save the lives of women and babies, celebrated World Blood Donor Day by raising awareness on the issue of blood donation and changing behaviour and attitudes.