Assuring Blood Donation Safety in Uganda

Assuring Blood Donation Safety in Uganda

On World Blood Donor Day 2009 in Uganda, the Uganda Blood Transfusion Service and Red Cross ask the public to "Donate Blood Today."

In the early years of the global HIV/AIDS epidemic, a safe blood supply was a critical concern for stopping the transmission of HIV for developed and developing countries alike.  Over the years great strides have been made in improving blood safety, but it continues to be an ongoing challenge in developing countries, requiring improved infrastructure and ongoing technical assistance.  CDC, through its work in implementing the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), has made blood safety a critical component of its HIV prevention activities.

CDC's support for blood safety in Uganda illustrates the capacity to support countries in developing sustainable, country-owned public health systems.

The Uganda Blood Transfusion Services (UBTS), the national body responsible for all blood safety activities in Uganda, enables surgeons and other medical professionals to offer units of blood that save patients' lives. UBTS originated in 1957 and, for 20 years, supplied all necessary blood to Ugandan hospitals. During the 1970s and 1980s, civil strife and war led to insufficient equipment maintenance and eventual lack of blood supplies. Until 1987, before blood could be tested for transfusion transmissible infections (TTI), blood transfusion was entirely hospital-based and blood donors were recruited from among patients' relatives. Those who had no relatives did not benefit from this life saving therapy and many lives were lost.

The European Commission funded the rehabilitation of Uganda's central blood bank in 1987 but, when that funding ended in 2004, the UBTS had not reached optimal operational capacity.

In 2004, with an infusion of PEPFAR funding and technical assistance from CDC's Global AIDS Program, the UBTS was revitalized.  CDC has supported improved operations and systems in all areas of Uganda's blood safety, from donor recruitment and recall, to processing, testing, monitoring, and evaluation.

The Uganda Minister of Health, Dr. Stephen Mallinga, and the CDC-Uganda Country Director, Dr. K. Mills McNeill, dedicate the opening of the PEPFAR-supported Mbarara Regional Blood Bank.

The Orthopedic Department of Mulago National Referral Hospital is one of the main beneficiaries of blood from UBTS. According to Orthopedic Surgeon Dr Isaac Kajja, his department needs daily replenishment of blood stocks because of the kind of surgeries it handles — those that lead to loss of a lot of blood. These include surgeries performed as a result of road accidents, correction of childhood deformities, joint replacements, infections and cancers of the bone.

With a minimum of eight surgeries carried out daily at the department, most need blood transfusion. Dr Kajja was pleased to point out that there had been marked improvement of blood supplies since PEPFAR started funding UBTS through the CDC in 2004. "I have appreciated the changes in the last three to four years. In 2004 we deferred 56% of cold surgeries (surgeries that were not emergencies), but in 2008 we are deferring only 40% of these surgeries because of improved availability of blood," he said.

Posted by George Daniels on Monday February 27 2012, 7:24 AM EDT. Ref: CDC. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Health. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0