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Research Article
Challenges facing blood transfusion services at a regional blood transfusion center in Western Kenya
1 Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, School of Medicine, Moi University, PO Box 4606-30100, Eldoret, Kenya
2 Department of Pathology (Hematology and Blood Transfusion), School of Medicine, Moi University, PO Box 4606-30100, Eldoret, Kenya
3 Directorate of Pathology and Laboratory Services, Moi Teaching and Reference Hospital, PO Box 3-30100, Eldoret, Kenya
4 Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, School of Medicine, Moi University, PO Box 4606-30100, Eldoret, Kenya
Address correspondence to:
Kavulavu BM
Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County,
Kenya
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Article ID: 100075Z02KM2022
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How to cite this article
Kavulavu BM, Bushuru BN, Muendo NN, Kumotia WO, Kipkulei JC, Lotodo TC, Kirinyet JK, Tum F, Obala A. Challenges facing blood transfusion services at a regional blood transfusion center in Western Kenya. Int J Blood Transfus Immunohematol 2022;12(2):12–20.ABSTRACT
Aims: The demand for blood and blood products in sub-Saharan Africa is occasioned by tropical infectious diseases and obstetric complications that cause anemia. We therefore need a well-organized blood transfusion service with sufficient resources to process blood and blood products, especially in the Western Kenya, where co-infections of tropical diseases are rampant. This study was aimed at determining the blood deficiency and challenges experienced by Eldoret Regional Blood Transfusion Center (ERBTC).
Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive design was used to conduct the study. All the ERBTC staffs, donor records, and blood requisition and dispatch registers were studied. Self-administered questionnaires and data collection abstraction forms were used to collect data. The extracted data from ERBTC registers included those on demand and supply mismatches and blood discards. The obtained data were entered into Microsoft Excel and analyzed using descriptive statistics.
Results: A total of 16 staffs, 230 donor records, and 9612 units of requested blood were reviewed. The ERBTC reported many challenges ranging from understaffing, limited funding, insufficient equipment, and irregular reagents and other laboratory supplies. During the study period, the blood bank only managed to supply 4740 units of blood against a demand of 9612 units, thus occasioning a 50.7% deficit. A discard rate of 7.8% after the screening was also reported due to insufficient volumes after collection and transfusion transmissible infections. However, there were no wastages during the study period.
Conclusion: The main challenges experienced by ERBTC were understaffing, insufficient funding, limited equipment, frequent reagent outages, and discards of unsuitable blood, resulting in very high deficits. We recommend hiring staff, increased funding, acquiring modern equipment and reagents, and recruiting known regular blood donors to alleviate frequent shortage.
Keywords: Demand, Equipment, Reagents, Supply
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
Acknowledgments
We wish to thank all staff at the Eldoret Regional Blood Transfusion Center (ERBTC) for their cooperation during data collection
Author ContributionsKavulavu BM - Conception of the work, Design of the work, Acquisition of data, Analysis of data, Drafting the work, Revising the work critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published, Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
Bushuru BN - Conception of the work, Design of the work, Acquisition of data, Analysis of data, Drafting the work, Revising the work critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published, Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
Muendo NN - Conception of the work, Design of the work, Acquisition of data, Analysis of data, Drafting the work, Final approval of the version to be published, Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
Kumotia WO - Conception of the work, Design of the work, Acquisition of data, Analysis of data, Drafting the work, Final approval of the version to be published, Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
Kipkulei JC - Conception of the work, Design of the work, Acquisition of data, Analysis of data, Drafting the work, Revising the work critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published, Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
Lotodo TC - Drafting the work, Revising the work critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published, Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
Kirinyet JK - Drafting the work, Revising the work critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published, Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
Tum F - Drafting the work, Final approval of the version to be published, Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
Obala A - Conception of the work, Design of the work, Drafting the work, Revising the work critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published, Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
Guarantor of SubmissionThe corresponding author is the guarantor of submission.
Source of SupportNone
Data AvailabilityAll relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files.
Conflict of InterestAuthors declare no conflict of interest.
Copyright© 2022 Kavulavu BM et al.. This article is distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original author(s) and original publisher are properly credited. Please see the copyright policy on the journal website for more information.
