NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 1 – During the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, the Kenya National Blood Transfusion Service (KNBTS) experienced a major shortage of blood supplies and had to use innovative ways of mobilizing blood donors.
KNBTS says it used to collect about 450 pints of blood every day.
However, with the onset of COVID-19 in the country, the situation has changed, and this has dropped by between 70 and 80 percent.
The Nairobi Metropolitan Services, LifeBank and KNBTS set out a blood donation campaign which also saw the launch of a Smart Blood Collection Center at the Mama Lucy.
The Smart Bank uses technology to provide easy access and real-time availability of blood and is able to collect 10 units of blood daily.
“The smart center is doing a great job, as we used to send the patients family for blood donations, but now the blood is easily sourced,” explained Fatihiya Swaleh, who is in charge of Lab at the Mama Lucy Hospital.
On blood donations, Swaleh noted that the exercise has been greatly affected by Covid-19 but assured that blood supplies are being met.
“Also, public hospitals with the larger East lands area have benefited from the set-up and enjoyed free logistics of blood when being delivered to them,” he said.
The second such public blood collection facility in Kenya apart from the Blood Transfusion Unit at Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), aims to meet the monthly demands at the facility that is between 400-500 units of blood.
“What we do is to close the gap between the demand for blood and hospitals with patients who are in urgent need of blood. We built the blood bank at Mama Lucy to enhance universal access for patients and be of service to the Nation,” Philip Nyabera, CEO LifeBank Kenya noted.
Before setting up the centre, the only mode of blood donation was through family replacements. This meant that the patient’s relatives would walk to KNBTS at KNH to donate blood for transfusion.
This was not sustainable since most relatives could not afford the trip to and fro and some resorted to walking all the way only to find that the official working hours were over.
Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital required 480 pints per month to meet the transfusion requirement but received barely 50% of the required threshold and this meant that patients lost lives due to the shortages.
“With the launch of SmartBank we have seen a considerable improvement in the number of lives saved and we currently do not have any blood-related deaths due to the ease of access and accessibility to blood and its products,” Nyabera noted.
LifeBank has partnered with KNBTS and other partners in 8 major blood drives with other Pop-up drives to supplement the national reserves
“This has been actualized through community mobilization and outreaches in the community that has made it easier for the population to donate and save lives close to their homes,” he said.
LifeBank currently work with 61 hospitals with the number growing by day.
It is estimated that in every 10 minutes about 7 Kenyans need blood.
Blood shortages are a critical issue in Kenya. In 2019, the KNBTS collected only 16% of the 1 million units the country needed.
Global health experts believe that one of the reasons behind this shortage is the absence of a culture of donating blood in the country; another is funding gaps.
The US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) cut its support to the country’s blood services, which provided the majority of its financing, leaving the nation unprepared to plug the gap.
