The Sunday Mail
Forward Nyanyiwa
AS the festive season is now in full swing with many enjoying the pomp and fanfare, there are heighten risks of road fatalities due to the increased mobility of people, among other reasons.
With this also comes a high demand for blood transfusions as a measure to save accident victims.
Already, the National Blood Service of Zimbabwe is spearheading campaigns to encourage various population groups to donate blood.
But they face a number of challenges.
Mr Saymore Horiro, once a regular blood donor in Harare, has since stopped donating blood. This stems from having seen his uncle succumb to severe anaemia after failing to raise money to cover the prohibitive prices of blood.
“I have since stopped donating blood after watching my uncle die from lack of blood. We were not able to raise the required amount needed then for him to have blood transfusion and they declined to transfuse him before a payment was made.
“As a regular donor, I was infuriated by everything that happened until we sadly lost him. I donate blood to save others, but ironically, I lost a loved one for lack of blood. It doesn’t make sense,” said a livid Mr Horiro.
In addressing such grievances, NBSZ public affairs manager Ms Esther Masundah said they had non-monetary incentives for consistent blood donors. This includes free blood transfusion for the donor in times of need.
“If a person donates blood for a consistent ten times, they will get free transfusion in times of need and therefore we urge people to donate blood. People can also receive hats or T-shirts as incentives,” said the NBSZ public affairs manager.
Currently, the prices of a pint of blood at public and private hospitals is US$80 and US$100 respectively.
This followed Government intervention after a public outcry which had seen patients forking out as much as US$120 for a single pint of blood in a public hospital with private hospitals pegging it at US$150.
However, the prices remain prohibitive to the ordinary person.
Another challenge that the NBSZ has to deal with is the high demand for blood Group O. There are basically four blood group types, namely A, B, AB and O. Individuals with Group O type can donate to anyone with the rest of the blood group types, yet they need one of their type to receive transfusion.
Ms Masundah said although the national blood bank has low stocks of blood Group O, others are well-stocked for the festive period.
“Our stocks of blood Group O are not at the levels we would have wanted them to be and it can be tricky if we have serious road accidents.
“We appeal for blood donations. Those who don’t know their blood groups are also encouraged to come and donate,” she said.
The low stocks of blood Group O is not peculiar to Zimbabwe alone, as other countries in the SADC region are seized with the same problem.
“This is not a Zimbabwe issue alone. Even if one goes to Malawi, Botswana and Zambia, they have the same problem. Most hospitals order this blood group and it is a regional issue,” said Mrs Masundah.
Last week, they launched a campaign in Masvingo, targeting 740 units.
The NBSZ planning and recruiting officer, Mr Michael Chakona, was quoted in the media as saying last year they got 920 units from members and non-members during the same period. In addition, they managed to surpass the previous national target of 65 000 units, reaching the 65 031 units mark.
While efforts continue across the country to encourage blood donation, NBSZ highlighted that their major donors are students. Ms Masundah said while commendable, it was disheartening that most of the donors are youths who constitute 70 percent of the total donations with adults contributing less than 30 percent.
“We get most of our blood from the youths in high schools, universities and other institutions and they donate 70 percent of the blood. It is difficult to get blood from adults because of various reasons, some which are fear of the unknown and different lifestyles.
“However, there are some who are donating and recently two adults reached a milestone 250th donation,” she said.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), one percent of a nation’s population can be able to meet the most basic requirements of blood.
Zimbabwe is among nations in line to achieve WHO’s target for all countries to obtain their blood supplies from donors by the year 2020.
