Moving Kenya towards blood sufficiency: re- interpretation of ‘non-remunerated donors’ as provided in section 85 of the health act.
Date
2020-11
Authors
Malonza, Michelle
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Strathmore University
Abstract
In August 2019, the chairman of the Committee of Blood Donation and Transfusion Stakeholders (CBDTS) stated that Kenya had only two weeks supply of blood bags for collection and transfusion of blood in the stores of the Kenya National Blood Transfusion Service (KNBTS). The huge blood demand- supply gap is a major challenge faced by blood services worldwide and this is partly due to a lack of voluntary blood donors. In many African countries, there is heavy reliance on family donors, which is often done out of a duty towards a relative or friend and rarely as an altruistic act to a stranger.
Description
Kenya’s blood supply is wedded in policy that blood can only be procured through voluntary blood donations with no material incentives provided to induce supply.1 For this reason, the demand for blood from family and friends (also known as replacement donors) is high in both conventional and non- conventional media.2
A cross-sectional study carried out in Nigeria involving about 400 students revealed that seventy one percent of respondents would donate blood voluntarily if they had adequate information about blood donation and were aware that a unit of blood would save a life. Similarly, roughly thirty percent of the respondents would be motivated to donate blood if they were given some gift items.