Shortage of blood supply in health facilities is becoming a hinderence for hospitals in Homa Bay as they endeavour to provide maximum health care services to patients.
Medicine San Frontieres Project Coordinator Bright Mukhuna attributed the scarcity of blood to lack of funds to enable the team to conduct donation campaigns in the region.
‘The people are ready to donate blood but we need funds in order to reach them for that matter,’ Mukhuna said.
Speaking on Wednesday while celebrating World blood donor day in Homa Bay town market, he also noted that the county lacks a blood screening centre which is critical in screening of blood before it can be given to patients who are in need.
‘The blood that we collect cannot be transfused to patients even during emergencies before it is screened. But we do not have a screening centre in Homa Bay,’ he said.
The county relies on the neighbouring Kisumu County to get this service.
The project coordinator said they are usually forced to transport to Kisumu county and back blood from donors for that reason which he noted to be time consuming.
‘If we can find a way of solving these two problems of funding and setting up of our very own screening centre then we can offer quality services to our patients,’ Mukhuna added.
He urged the government to support blood donation campaigns through provision of funds to ensure smooth and quality services to the people.
A donor, David Otieno who donated blood for the 19th time in a period of five years urged fellow residents to follow suit and save lives.
‘We should all be partaking in blood donation exercise because donating blood has its own health benefits. I used to have frequent headaches before but I no longer have them since I became a donor,’ he added.
Source: Kenya News Agency