Samuel Ndong was among Kenyans who showed up for a blood drive organised by the KNBTS and Coalition of Blood for Africa at Uhuru Park on Monday.
But his mission was not to come for the donation. He was passing by when he saw tents and decided to go and donate blood. This was his second time to do so.
“What has motivated me is that I am a father of three and my wife has never had any childbirth-related complications but I know there are women who go through such and hence I should support them,” he said.
“I have donated because I have seen this place, if not I wouldn’t. They should go to more towns because it is only in Nairobi that donation sites can be seen,” he added.
The Kenya National Blood Transfusion Service targets to collect at least 3,000 units of blood in three days in an effort to help combat postpartum haemorrhage among Kenyan women.
This comes amid reports that blood banks in the country are half empty.
The poor donation culture by Kenyans was worsened by the effects of the pandemic, making an already bad situation worse.
Nairobi, which has the largest consumers of blood – the Kenyatta National Hospital and Pumwani Maternity Hospital – collected 5,720 units in 2020 against an annual target of 88,000 units.
The county needs at least 400 units a day or between 9,000 to 12,000 units per month to serve the population well.
Excessive bleeding after childbirth is the leading cause of maternal deaths in the country, accounting for 34 per cent of all maternal deaths in Kenya.
The KNBTS chief executive Dr Nduku Kilonzo, who led the drive at Uhuru Park, said the hope is that Kenyans make blood donation a lifestyle.
“We have not attained the level we would want. Last year, we didn’t get enough blood as we required due to Covid-19 and all of us were at home. So people did not know whether it was safe to come out and donate,” Kilonzo said.
In an effort to get trust from Kenyans after reports of blood cartels smuggling the blood to neighbouring countries, the government now plans to start giving monthly reports on how much was collected and how it was used.
“That system will help us account for every unit of blood. We had a challenge of blood going bad but with enough budgetary allocation from the Health ministry we have been able to procure reagents,” Kilonzo said.
The availability of safe blood and blood products is a prerequisite for various health care services.
These include surgeries, treatments for cancer and other acute and chronic medical conditions, trauma care, organ transplantation, and childbirth: all lifesaving procedures.
The WHO recommends that Kenya needs at least two per cent of the population to donate blood every year to have blood sufficiency.
KNBTS is serving over 500 transfusing hospitals nationally with blood and blood components.
