The first ever blood bank and centre has been opened in Lamu county.
The Sh34 million facility was officially opened by the county on Tuesday.
The facility, which is situated within the Mokowe health centre in Lamu West subcounty, was officially commissioned by Lamu Governor Fahim Twaha.
The launch marks an end to more than 59 years of reliance on the National Blood Transfusion Station in Nairobi.
The absence of such a facility in Lamu has over the years proven to be a huge challenge to the health sector, considering the location of the county on the Kenya-Somalia border.
The border poses a great risk to patients in need of urgent blood transfusions and access.
The county has over the years recorded numerous blood shortages that forced it to ferry blood from as far as Nairobi and Mombasa during emergencies.
Speaking during opening of the centre, Twaha said the establishment of the facility is a major milestone towards promoting access to Universal Health Coverage.
The governor said the facility will enable easy access to transfusable blood.
“This blood bank lays a foundation for the provision of comprehensive services for patients, particularly those with bleeding disorders and other related diseases that require blood transfusion across the region,” Twaha said.
He said the centre has the capacity to hold and circulate about 90 per cent of the blood and related services needed in all the county public hospitals.
Lamu has five key public hospitals, 34 dispensaries and several health centers spread across the county.
The five main hospitals are the King Fahd Lamu County Referral Hospital, Mpeketoni Subcounty Hospital in Lamu West, Faza Subcounty Hospital in Lamu East, Witu and Mokowe health centres.
“The presence of the blood bank centre will help save such lives by ensuring patients get the blood within our county instead of being referred to other counties outside,” he said.
Health executive Anne Gathoni said in the previous years, there have been challenges faced by patients requiring urgent blood transfusions in Lamu hospitals.
She said the new facility will save patients the high cost of money spent while seeking medical help outside the county.
Gathoni urged residents in Lamu to take advantage of the presence of the blood bank to upscale voluntary donations to replenish the county's blood reserve.
(edited by Amol Awuor)
