West Nile hit by shortage of blood

A Blood Bank official in Arua District, West Nile Sub-region, has blamed the shortage of the life-saving red liquid on low participation of locals in blood donation.

Mr Gilbert Anguyo, the acting manager for Arua Regional Blood Bank, said they have failed to collect the required 35,000 blood units that are needed for patients.

“We are about 3.5 million people, including refugees in the West Nile Sub-region. We only collect about 14, 000 units of blood yearly. We need more mobilisation done to save our poor people,” he said during a blood donation exercise on Tuesday.

Mr Anguyo said as a result, they get blood from Fort Portal or Nakasero blood banks.  
“We have a lot of accidents that happen, malnutrition, expectant mothers, and cases of malaria that create high demand for blood. But we do not have the required blood in the hospitals most times. So some patients end up dying,” he said. 

Mr Anguyo’s concern was echoed by Mr Richard Ocama, a resident of Laji cell in Jukia Ward, Nebbi Municipality,  who nearly lost his anaemic sister in 1990 due to shortage of blood at the nearest health facility.

At that time, Mr Ocama was ineligible to donate blood to save the life of her sister. He was 16 years and did not have the required weight to donate blood. 

The situation was worsened because the distance from Nebbi Hospital to Angal Hospital is far, coupled with the bad roads.  His parents travelled on the rough road on foot to Angal Hospital, which is 17 kilometres away, to get blood. 

“I shed tears seeing my sister dying on her bed at Nebbi Hospital because she did not have blood. This then made me reflect on my life to start donating blood in order to save people’s lives. Luckily, some poor man from some village, which I can’t recall now, came and donated blood, which saved her life,” Mr Ocama said.  

The suffering of his sister and other patients who lack blood inspired Mr Ocama to start donating blood at the age of 17. 

Mr Ocama is now 44 years old. He has donated blood 68 times to date and has been working with the Uganda Red Cross Society in Nebbi to save the lives of patients.  

“I have always believed that there is no machine that can manufacture blood. But I can only save lives through my left hand that is pricked for transfusion and some patient will receive it with the right hand to save his or her life,” he said.   

Similarly, Mr Isaac Lino, 36, of Katrini Lower Village in Terego District, faced a scenario that forced him to lie about his age to donate blood in order to save the life of his relative.  

Mr Lino told Monitor on Wednesday:  “I had to lie to the blood bank team that I was 18 years old because I could not imagine seeing my relative die. She was anaemic because of severe malaria. We had looked for blood in vain but I was the last option to save her life.”

Mr Lino, who then became a volunteer, has donated blood 59 times and wants to continue saving people’s lives. 

Student’s role
The Arua Regional Branch Manager for Uganda Red Cross Society, Mr Fred Ouma, said: “We do get shortages of blood when students get back to school. But we need to target wide communities in order to get the required blood for our people.”  

The chairperson of Arua, Mr Alfred Okuonzi, said: “It is sad that people only realise the need for blood when there is a crisis to save a life. We have high cases of accidents, teenage mothers delivering, and abortions. These categories of people need urgent blood. But where will we get the gap of blood needed?”

Figures at Arua Regional Blood Bank
35,000, units of blood target in the Financial Year 2021/2022.

14,000, units of blood collected in the Financial Year 2021/2022.

21,000, the deficit of blood units needed in the West Nile.