The Sunday Mail
Theresa Nyava Insight
The blood that is pumped along our arteries every second by the heart serves an indispensable role of ensuring that life is sustained in the body. Without blood, there is no life, just as the Bible has told us donkey years ago that: “For the life of every creature is its blood; its blood is its life.” (Leviticus 17:14)
Here, we see that matters of blood should not be taken for granted — they are matters of life and death!
You never know when you are going to need blood.
Maybe you may be involved in a road accident and lose a lot of blood. Or you find yourself bleeding profusely while giving birth.
There are many scenarios whereby you might find yourself in need of blood transfusion.
I suppose that is why Government, through the National Blood Service of Zimbabwe, keeps a blood bank to ensure those who might need blood, which is life, may “get” it.
I remember in high school when I started donating blood.
We would be given some biscuits and a glass of orange juice after donating. For some hungry students, they would apparently just donate for the sake of getting a free glass of orange juice and biscuits.
Blood for biscuits; or life for biscuits, rather! But the odds change when it comes to you needing the same blood that you would have freely donated at some point.
And, unfortunately, it won’t be as cheap as orange juice and biscuits. The price of blood is beyond the reach of many!
It is very surprising that the very blood we donate for free is being sold at a price of US$120 per pint and even more in some private hospitals.
Is the high price of blood not akin to sentencing people to death, especially the poor with no money or medical insurance?
You see, the reason why many people donate blood in the first place is their passion to save other people’s lives free of charge.
I am a blood donor, but what sense does it make when my poor anaemic friend has to buy blood for US$120?
Why then am I donating blood which will apparently be rationed at a high price which can only be afforded by a few?
Why should my blood be used as an instrument to punish the poor? Why should we have a capitalist mindset in determining the price of life, blood, that is? Why can’t I just sell my blood for nearly that market price so that if my loved ones happen to be in need of it one day, maybe after being involved in a serious car accident, I can use that very amount to buy them blood?
According to the Traffic Safety Council of Zimbabwe, 1 133 people were injured in road accidents during the festive season in 2015.
Of all those who got injured, let’s try to think of how many needed blood transfusion and how many afforded to buy the costly blood.
Amongst those injured are obviously relatives of some regular blood donors. Just imagine how they felt buying the same blood their relatives had donated for free!
Section 76 of the Constitution says every Zimbabwean citizen has the right to emergency medical treatment in any healthcare institution. A good thing on paper, but that does not make us escape the hospital charges, including that of blood.
Government needs to do something, lest the NBSZ runs out of blood donors at some point.
In a bid to make blood prices affordable to patients, the NBSZ in June 2016 reduced the blood prices from US$135 to US$120 per unit for Government hospitals and from US$161 to US$140 for private hospitals.
Can the majority still afford blood at this new price regime? Personally, I don’t think so.
Blood is still “a luxury” whose price is still far from the reach of many, and should be as low as US$20 per pint.
Of course, we do understand that the NBSZ incurs expenses, for instance, for blood purification, transportation and storage.
However, the point here is that the prices of blood are too high and a lot of people cannot afford it.
Just imagine the plight of some individuals who need blood transfusion every two months, yet their salaries are even below the poverty datum line and have a lot of responsibilities.
By reducing the price of blood to US$20 per pint, at most, many people will start to afford it.
And when that happens, many will be encouraged to donate regularly and more blood will be available in our blood banks.
The NBSZ can still meet its expenses via the economies of scale associated with harvesting dynamic quantities of blood. Some can actually be exported, as we start to accrue surpluses.
Blood is very essential in as far as human health is concerned.
One may not understand that until they visit our local healthcare institutions and see how our fellow brethren are suffering from anemia and other diseases which require blood transfusion. That was actually one of the reasons which motivated me to become a blood donor.
My fellow blood donors may be donating for the same reasons, too.
Government should at least allow patients who need blood transfusion to get blood and treatment and then pay later since people are dying due to lack of funds to buy blood.
Think of a maid who is earning only US$50 a month, and is involved in an accident which leaves her requiring four pints of blood going for US$120 per unit.
This is nothing but daylight robbery!
I think blood donors should also be given a choice of whether they want their blood to be sold or given for free.
Failure to act positively on the high blood prices might result in the country losing blood donors who may only see it as a business project to make a profit out of their precious blood.
That might also result in poor health service delivery or even pushing us to the point of having to import blood and this will cost Government more than just reducing prices.
I would like to encourage fellow blood donors to continue donating blood as we wait for Government, NBSZ and the Ministry of Health and Child Care to do something.
Remember, you are saving someone’s life by giving your blood today.
Families out there; I urge you to know your blood groups and status so that one day you can also donate to your needy family members.
Theresa Nyava is doing her final year in Politics and Public Management with a local university. She is a proud blood donor and women’s rights activist. We hope Theresa’s submissions give insight into the subject of blood as it relates to the Republic. Article sourced by the regular writer of this column, Clemence Machadu.
