Blood shortage hits Malawi hospitals: MBTS sounds alarm

Malawi Blood Transfusion Service (MBTS) has sounded a panic button, saying blood shortage has reached alarming levels in hospitals because only a few people come to the centers to donate blood.

Some of the few people donating blood at Lilongwe MBTS Center -pic by LINA
Some of the few people donating blood at Lilongwe MBTS Center -pic by LINA

MBTS Lilongwe Center disclosed that they are collecting only around thirty units a day from a required amount of around 1000 units a day.

James Palapandu, Head of MBTS, Lilongwe Centre expressed worry saying hospitals may lose many lives which would have been saved if MBTS had enough blood to distribute in hospitals.

Palapandu complained: “It is just unfortunate that people are not forth coming to donate blood which has declined to 30 units a day from a required amount of 1000 units per day.”

According to Palapandu, Kamuzu Central Hospital alone needs 100 units of blood each day against the 30 units collected by MBTS. Additionally, there are other blood requirements from district hospitals for MBTS to consider.

He lamented further: “We are facing a huge challenge to convince people to donate blood, students are our biggest doors and we collect up to 70 units per day when schools are in session but when they close for holidays such as this time, the figure declines to around 30 units per day.

“ When schools open, we travel to schools to plead with them to donate blood but even among students it is not many who are willing to donate their blood.”

Palapandu also explained that after collecting blood at MBTS Lilongwe Center, they send the blood units to Blantyre for certification because Lilongwe Center has no such machine. He said in the past they used to do the certification manually which was tedious and time consuming.

The MBTS Head has therefore appealed to the general public to come forward and donate blood because one may not know who will need blood tomorrow.

Spokesperson for Kamuzu Central Hospital, Mabble Nkhata, who is also Deputy Director of the hospital responsible for nursing, refused to speak to the reporter speaking through her secretary that she was too busy despite the reporter pleading with her to explain the situation in the hospital with the shortage of blood so that the nation should immediately be sensitized. She said she could consider talking to the reporter possibly in three days time.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, one of the nurses working at the Kamuzu Central Hospital confessed that a crisis has already begun because of lack of enough blood to give patients who need it, and she said many of them are just dying.

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tchutchutchu
tchutchutchu
8 years ago

Ma authorities ena a mbts akukhalira ndalama ngati ndi zawo malo moti awapatse ma nurse awo kuti azikayenda kutalikutali kuti akapeze magazi.

Agama
Agama
8 years ago

CommentMBTS muzifikanso. Kumidzi apart from students.Kumathamangathamanga kufika paliponse.Partenership is very impotarnt you can reach out to corperate world for assitance to increase your activities of collecting blood.Osangothi phee! Chetechete sautsa nyama!

Pwiya
Pwiya
8 years ago

Typical of Malawians finding excuses why you cannot do something but someone else should do it for you or the government should do it for you etc. Those of you talking about payment inu simugula madzi from waterboard? dont you know that water comes freely from heaven as rain? why dont you take madzi amuzithapwi ndikumwa instead of payning monthly bills ku waterboard? zitserekwete stop talking nosense if you cannot donate blood and leave those who can donate do so

Kenneth manusha
Kenneth manusha
8 years ago

Ndnapta ku chpatala cha ….. Ndpo ndnal nd vuto lotsowa magaz koma anandwuza kut ndkuyenera kugula magaz pomwe ndne 4 tims blood donor
ndye mukuganiza kut olo ztavuta ndngakapeke magaz?

Patriot
Patriot
8 years ago

Ma taituloayambapo:
1. Blood shortage hits Malawi hospitals
2. Cholera outbreak hits Blantyre
Posachedwapa
3. Hunger hits Malawi
etc

wawa
wawa
8 years ago

Nthawi ya kamuzu tinka thawa tikawona wopapa magazi ku school mu lilongwe …..school amathera pomwepo mpaka one week..kikikkkkkkkk….

passwell
8 years ago

akapeleka bwanji magazi coz ambiri mwa anthu ku malawi ali ndi Hiv,muyambe mwapanga kaye kafukufuku kuti chikupangitsa ndichani? mwina magazi akugulitsidwa kuma private clinics kokha coz mudzipatala za boma mwadzadza mbuli ma doctor enieni akumakagwila ntchito kunja

Neverapine
8 years ago

I dn understand thoz pipo hu r pointing fingers at mbts, the problem is with us malawians. We dn want 2 donate blood, chonsecho inu kapena m’bale wanu akadwala mumafuna magazi. Mumati achokera kutiko? kwa ng’pmbe kapena? Mbts is trying its best to mobilise people to donate blood but its just that people dnt want to donate blood

Ny
Ny
8 years ago

Simpo, MG shud arrange a special budget on that annually, a donor must receive some money when done, donating blood to the unknown is a very tough decision to make, blood is part of body and cant just be taken out anyhow..what we are loosing is far greater than a little we can spend…The problem with us, we want something precious 4 free from the blood owners who are holding the rights of donating it or not..

Wachimalawi
Wachimalawi
8 years ago
Reply to  Ny

Really? How much would you put on saving a life? Where is your humanity? You should give blood cause you care and not for finincial gain.

gwizima
gwizima
8 years ago

MALAWI BLOOD TRANSFUSSION AUTHORITIES Please be serious, have mobile centre units near locations, working places, etc because few would spend their hard earned money on transport looking for your centre to donate their blood. Opempha satopa, so please show some seriousness because its not that people don’t want to donate blood, but its the proximity of the centres that stops willing people from donating blood.

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