Feature


By Frazer Potani, Lilongwe, Malawi


Like a lamb ready for sacrifice she submitted herself to the health personnel to donate a pint of blood.

But the blood collecting personnel were reluctant to collect blood from
her because, at 62, according to them they thought it was not advisable due to her age.

She however, insisted and before collecting the precious, life saving crimson liquid from her the health personnel recommended that she should be checked by a doctor which she did!

The physician then gave her a go ahead to donate blood because a medical examination showed that she was fit enough to be a blood donor.

This was Malawi’s President Joyce Banda recently leading by example by donating blood at the official launch of Blood Donation Awareness Week and National Blood Policy at Lunzu Catholic Primary School ground in Blantyre.

After donating blood the President appealed to Malawians to also voluntarily donate blood during and beyond the blood donation awareness week in order to save lives of patients in need of the precious commodity during emergencies in hospital.

"While I commend and thank everyone who has donated blood, I call upon all of us as citizens of this country to join hands to close the gap and make shortage of blood in our bank a thing of the past," explained Banda adding, “If we have adequate blood in our hospitals’ blood banks we will even be assuared that there will be no more mothers dying during child birth, there are no more children dying and patients due to lack of blood.”

She disclosed that as a country, Malawi can reduce such deaths by 20 percent if only 80,000 of Malawians take the noble decision to become blood donors.

On the other hand on the launch of the National Blood Policy, Banda said the policy will help, among other things, ensure that blood donations are voluntary, non-remunerated and collected from low risk population, promote regular blood donation and that family replacement blood donation system is gradually being phased out.

"The development of this policy is therefore, a major milestone in our country’s health service delivery," she explained.

Malawi Blood Transfusion Services (MBTS) Board Chairperson, Anastanzia
Msosa said Malawi needs 80,000 pints of blood annually but some months ago managed just to collect 51,000 pints which is inadequate for the country’s demand.

"Our target is to collect 10,000 pints this week. Last year we collected 5,000 pints and hopefully we will manage to get the required amount of 80,000 per year," she explained.

Malawi needs to take urgent measures to increase availability of blood in hospitals to save lives.

In September this year for instance due to failure by authorities to address the shortage of blood in public hospitals taking advantage of the situation including economic hardships selling blood boomed in the lakeshore district of Mangochi over 300 Km from Malawi’s capital, Lilongwe!

The blood bank at Mangochi District Hospital had dried up and the matter forced some patients with no choice but buying blood from some residents who were pegging a pint of blood at K7, 000 (about $23).

An anaemic patient Hawa Ntila who had just then given birth to twins at Makanjira Hospital in the same Mangochi District and was bedridden at Mangochi District Hospital paid K7,000 for a pint of blood and few days later had also to part with the same amount to a blood donor.

Ntila works for Women and Law in Southern Africa (Wilsa) Malawi Chapter as a Community Based Facilitator.

Her boss also Gender Rights Campaigner also Wilsa Malawi Chapter National Coordinator Seodi White got furious with the blood sales reports disclosing that Ntila paid the K7,000 on Sunday September 22 for a pint of blood.

“She was told that she needs another pint of blood,” said White also a lawyer adding they were surprised by this and she even enquired as to how this was happenning.

White said of great painful was that Mangochi District Hospital officials were aware that the malpractice of selling blood was taking place.

She further explained that her organization planned to jointly with the Ministry of Health organize a blood donation day in Mangochi.

Following the on-going blood sales boom, Mangochi bycycle taxi operators were then standing outside Mangochi District Hospital entrance offering to donate blood for K7,000 a pint.

Malawi’s Health Ministry officials confirmed the developments in Mangochi, expressed their shock and said had then already launched investigations on the matter.

Despite the importance of blood in Malawi the country’s blood banks are always thirsty for more blood due to low blood donations.

Reproductive Health Unit Officer Wilfred Dzama concurred with President Banda saying blood loss in women during labour is among one of the major direct causes of death in pregnant women during childbirth in Malawi.

“Delay in supplies of blood transfusion facilities during labour increase death risks for pregnant women during labour,” he said.

Out of her own experience as a mother, Malawi’s President Joyce Banda also emphasized the importance of stocking adequate safe blood for emergency purposes including for pregnant women during labour in the country.

Banda disclosed that many years ago during labour she lost a lot of blood herself and it had to take blood donations to save her life then.

“I was told that I lost a lot of blood and it had to take an intervention of a doctor to save my life,” she said adding that since then she vowed to do everything to save lives of fellow expectant women hence her involvement in safe motherhood activities.

MBTS Executive Director Natasha Msamala said despite that blood is the most precious gift of life that anyone can give to another person many Malawians are unwilling to go to her organization’s centres to donate blood.

“Donating blood regularly by sufficient number of healthy people is necessary to ensure that blood will always be available whenever it is needed,” she said.

Msamala said in Malawi blood is commonly used for women with complications of pregnancy, such as haemorrhage before, during and after child birth.

“Blood also saves lives of children with severe anaemia, often resulting from malaria or malnutrition as well as for accident victims including patients undergoing surgical procedures,” she said.

Msamala therefore, appealed to people aged from 16 to 65 in Malawi to go to MBTS Centres to donate blood.

She disclosed that as a country Malawi needs about 80,000 units of blood per year but often collects an inadequate amount s against an ever increasing demand.

Msamala attributed to Malawians’ reluctance to donate blood due to among other things some misconceptions.

“For instance some people are afraid to donate blood because they believe that doing so will make them grow thin and impotent,” she explained adding that others are also discouraged to donate blood out of believing that MBTS sells blood.

Yet MBTS is a non-profit institution purely engaged in collecting blood from volunteers, test it before distributing it to all hospitals in Malawi to save lives of people in need of it.

“People should never believe in the misconceptions that have been circulating because they are not true, instead they should come forward to donate blood,” said Msamala.

To at least stock some blood in its banks, MBTS mainly depends on young people between 16 and 25 years especially from schools and colleges for blood donations therefore, its blood banks store inadequate blood against a high demand when students are on holiday.

According to MBTS a person can voluntarily donate 450 ml of blood at a time and has to be examined to make sure that he/she is healthy and medically meets standards first before making a donation.

“We mainly depend on school and college students to collect blood so much so that when their premises are closed we struggle to source blood for the needy in times of emergency yet if more people come forward to donate blood we can meet the demand,” said Msamala adding that blood demand in Malawi is always high.

Demand for blood in Malawi according to MBTS statistics even always gets higher between October, November and December and early January annually.

Many people are in need of blood around this period because they become anaemic after contracting malaria due to rampant mosquito bites as it is rainy season.

Further, around the same period road accidents increase due to festivities such as Christmas and New Year.

To enable many Malawians understand the importance of donating blood in the country MBTS is engaged in tireless civic education activities including annually joining the rest of the world in commemorating ‘World Blood Donor Day’ on June 14.

But concerned that Malawi, with a population of over 13 million has inadequate blood in public hospitals’ blood banks, MBTS recently launched a blood donation week and National Blood Policy to persuade Malawians to donate blood.

On her part, in recognition of blood’s importance in human health and life, President Banda thought it wise to temporarily abandon her duties in her oval office at Government Headquarters (Capital Hill) in Lilongwe to lead this vital bloody campaign!

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