Health facilities countrywide experiencing shortage of blood By Monitor Reporters Saturday, June 8 2013 A Saturday Monitor survey has shown a countrywide problem of blood shortage. At Jinja Regional Referral Hospital, the deputy director, Dr Daniel Balinanseko, said only minor operations were being carried out. Some people reportedly died as a result of failure to get blood although the hospital director declined to give details. Cases which are deemed of emergency nature are now being referred to Mulago National Referral Hospital. Dr Balinanseko attributed the shortage to both lack of donors and failure to make a planned regional blood bank operational. In Masaka, the shortage of blood has led to the death of several anemic children largely resulting from malaria. Dr Stuart Musisi, the district medical officer, said Masaka Regional Referral Hospital recently received some units from Nakasero Blood Bank but that had also run out. Dr Musisi blamed the problem on lack of testing kits. According to the Principal Administrator of Gulu Regional Referral Hospital, Muhammad Mubiru, the health facility currently has only 14 units of blood. In West Nile, a mother who wanted blood for her child, said she had been waiting for two days without much success. “My four-year-old daughter was referred from a health centre to here. I pray that God helps my child who is anemic,” she said. The situation is not any different in Arua District. At Adjumani Hospital, the administrator, Mr Michael Ojja, said: “We are faced with budget constraints to facilitate collection of blood from Gulu Regional Referral Hospital. A single trip to Gulu costs Shs200,000 which is not included in the hospital budget,” he said. For the last two weeks, blood supply to hospitals in the western region has been affected by lack reagents at the regional blood bank laboratory. But Dr Andrew Byamungu, the regional director, Uganda Blood Transfusion Services, on Thursday said they have now received testing reagents and regular processing of blood has resumed. “Though we did not have enough reagents, we kept supplying, we had planned early enough. The health units we serve did not run out of blood. Right now there is enough blood for patients because we have received more reagent supplies,” he said. At Mbarara hospital, patients and medical workers said there was no crisis. The senior laboratory technologist at Fort Portal Regional Referral Blood Bank, Mr Moses Mukembo, said they have reserved few units of blood for emergencies at different hospitals in the Rwenzori sub region. At Atutur Hospital in Kumi District, the health officer, Dr John Opolot, said it has not been easy attending to complicated cases requiring blood transfusion before operations. At least eight people have died in Soroti and Amuria districts due to shortage of blood. Three of the victims died at Soroti Regional Referral Hospital while five others died at St. Clare Health Centre III in Orungo Sub-county, Amuria District.
Posted on: Sun, 09 Jun 2013 06:06:47 +0000
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