Crisis looms as blood donation drive records low turn out

George Kebaso and Harrison Kivisu

The country is facing a blood shortage crisis following a massive drop in the number of donors as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, it has emerged.

According to the Kenya National Blood Transfusion Services (KNBTS), the county has witnessed a drop in the amount of blood collected annually, from the previous 500,000 to 800,000 units to about 200,000 units. 

Nduku Kilonzo, the  KNBTS chief executive said the situation has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic which saw many donors shy away from health facilities, especially between March and May last year when the pandemic struck the country.

 “The country needs one million units of blood annually to serve all Kenyans comfortably, but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we can only be able to collect 200,000 units in the meantime despite our target of 500,000 units,” she said at Uhuru Park yesterday during the launch of a three-day blood donation exercise.

She said the campaign in the next two days intends to realise 12,000 units of blood, but most of it will be transformed into components, where one unit will be enough to save the lives of three people.

In modern medical treatments, patients may receive a pint of whole blood or just the specific components of the blood that are needed to treat their particular condition.

Donation campaign

This approach to treatment, Kilonzo explained is referred to as blood component therapy, and it allows several patients to benefit from one pint of donated whole blood.

“We want to be able to transform 70 per cent of the 12,000 units of blood into components.

This will allow every pint of blood to reach more people,” Kilonzo said emphasising that science is what is going to be relied on, going forward in blood collection and management.

Elsewhere in Mombasa, it is reported this year’s national blood donation campaign drive registered a decrease in the number of Kenyans willing to donate blood.

The exercise was marked by a low turnout in the drive held at the Technical University of Mombasa, with only three per cent of residents turning for the blood donation exercise.

Kenya Red Cross Mombasa chairman Mahmoud Noor, decried that Kenyans are yet to adapt to a blood donation culture .

“We targeted 1,000 units nationwide but very few people are coming out to donate blood,” he said.