Interfaith blood drive this weekend as crisis worsens

An inter-faith blood donation campaign will be held in Nairobi this weekend to address blood shortage in the country.

The campaign, organised by the Health Ministry through the Kenya National Blood Transfusion, Tissue and Human Organ Transplantation, SGRR Sikh Temple and Universal Peace Federation, will be held on Saturday and Sunday at SGRR Sikh Temple in Landi Mawe.

It is the first such blood drive in Kenya bringing together religious groups for a common life-saving goal.

The availability of safe blood and blood products is a prerequisite for health care services like surgeries, treatment for cancer and other acute and chronic medical conditions, trauma care, organ transplantation, and childbirth – all lifesaving procedures. 

“It is on this note that the government wishes to appreciate all the denominations that have been converted and have come together to play this vital role in availing sufficient blood for the country,” head Fridah Govedi said on Friday.

Last week, the Kenyatta National Hospital said it had a daily shortfall of 160 units.

KNH board chairman Nicholas Gumbo said they only get 40 units per day against a demand of 200 units.

This constitutes 20 per cent of normal operations requirements. Already, maternity wards in most public hospitals are feeling the impact.

Gumbo said the situation was not unique to the national referral facility because the entire country experienced a shortage of blood and blood products.

“We are aware that blood is a precious and God-given commodity that cannot be manufactured anywhere in the world. Blood is required in many lifesaving conditions and every 10 minutes seven Kenyans are in need of blood,” Govedi said.

Kenya's blood stocks have been running low since mid-last year. They are now at a critical level.

Currently, the country has 164,000 blood units against the annual 1,000,000 units recommended by the World Health Organisation.

WHO says healthy, regular donors who are negative of HIV, hepatitis B, or C, or syphilis provide better quality blood than friends and relatives who show up at hospitals to donate out of guilt or love for their sick one.

“As a Kenyan, I do urge all of us to present ourselves to KNBTS centres and satellites to perform this noble responsibility of saving lives,” Govedi said.

The inability to find and store sufficient blood and blood products has been blamed on the country’s policy of procuring blood through donations only with no material incentives to induce supply.

Blood shortage has been reported countrywide since the President's Emergency Plan For Aids Relief (Pepfar) abruptly ended its support for blood transfusion in Kenya last year.

Pepfar lastly funded KNBTS at Sh2 billion for one year but exited when the government failed to provide for the transfusion service in the 2019-20 budget.

 “To bridge the blood gap that the country has, there is and there will always be a need for all Kenyans to embrace the culture of donating blood. This is a responsibility that knows no race, colour, tribe or religion.”

Despite Kenya being home to a large population of healthy, youthful people, most patients are made to cough out a lot of money for blood transfusion.

Besides the head office at KNH, there are five regional centres in Mombasa, Kisumu, Eldoret, Embu and Nakuru and 22 satellite centres spread around the country.

A report released last year by the Health Ministry revealed that loss of blood before, during or after childbirth (obstetric haemorrhage) is the leading cause of death among mothers in Kenya, killing two out of five women.