National blood
levels have for the last few months ran at less than a day’s supply which is a
recipe for disaster, said one hospital authority.
“We need blood
reserves of 1 600 units every day but currently we run at less than a day’s
supply which is 300 units,” said the source.
The blood
situation at hospitals is akin to condemning patients to death, added the
source.
The crisis is
attributed to Government that is not paying National Blood Services Zimbabwe
(NBSZ) for blood supplies to public hospitals and this has brought the
organisation’s operations to a halt.
Another source
said hospitals receive coupons from Government to procure blood but these
coupons have not come for many months.
Meanwhile
patients with financial means are referred to NBSZ where they buy a pint of
blood for US$250. The situation has seriously compromised management of
patients, said a medical source.
Ministry of
Health and Childcare Permanent Secretary Dr Aspect Maunganidze confirmed the
situation through a statement issued by the Public Relations Department. He
urged the public to support blood donations and bemoaned the price of blood at
US$250 a pint as it is unaffordable.
“All public
hospitals have no blood. Government must treat this situation as a national
disaster. Patients in need of blood transfusion are sent away, medical
operations are suspended or not done at all. The situation is dire for anaemia,
cancer patients, pregnant mothers, road traffic accident victims and women with
fibroids,” said a medical practitioner who declined to be named.
NBSZ Chief
Executive Officer, Lucy Marowa said her organisation is equally worried by the
situation and dispelled information going around that blood is now reserved for
the rich and the poor are condemned to die.
She confirmed
that NBSZ operations are compromised by lack of funding.
“We are not
denying blood to the poor. We want to help but stocks are very low. We have no
resources to go out in the field to collect blood,” said Marowa.
Although she
declined to confirm it, Masvingo Mirror understands NBSZ is failing to pay
workers’ salaries, the organisation’s teams last went into the field three
weeks ago to collect blood because there is no fuel and even basic items like,
coke, mazoe and buns given to blood donors after donating blood. The
organisation is also struggling to pay electricity, buy bond paper, tissue
paper and reagents.
Another source
said the cost of producing a pint of blood is just US$60 but this shoots to
US$250 because of the pricing structure distorted by Government buying the
blood in Zig. A lot of things used in the processing of blood and even the
packets are imported, said another source Masvingo Mirror
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