Health Workers on a Drive to Raise Blood
The first to respond were health workers who couldn’t sit back and watch a number of health centers go without blood.
The aftershocks of the lockdown have seen many hospitals call for need for more blood because of the shortage that has hit several parts of the country. Many regional blood banks are in dire need of blood. And according to the Uganda Radio Network (URN), the Northern region is one of the worst hit areas.
Also, according to the Uganda Redcross Society, the current numbers are worrying; and its far gap from what they used to collect before the lockdown was instituted by government.
Charles Kidega, one of the persons in-charge of blood donor recruitment at the Uganda Red Cross Society, says that before the lockdown, the Blood Bank used to collect an average of 80 units of blood a day before schools and institutions were closed, but today it can hardly collect 35 units from the community.
As a result, Kidega says that Gulu Regional Blood Bank is now approaching potential blood donors through home visits. It should be noted that the regional branch supplies blood to government and private health facilities in Acholi and Lango Sub –Regions and districts like Kiryandongo and Adjumani.
To ensure a wider area is covered, they sought help from community resource persons. The first to respond were health workers who couldn’t sit back and watch a number of health centers go without blood.
According to Dr. Kenneth Cana, the In-Charge of Awach Health Centre IV in Gulu District, the health workers are sensitizing the community and encouraging them to donate blood, whenever they get an opportunity.
“We start with those that are visiting hospitals and also we will join different drives around the community to explain why blood is important,” he stated. “Seeing the health workers fully dressed in their uniforms we realized helps show how urgent the issue is and we get more people responding.”
By CivSource Team