Understaffing at National Blood Service hampers blood donation
Under-staffing at the National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS) at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital is hampering the campaign for blood donation.
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Last Thursday, desperate members of the public, who had visited the premises of the service to donate blood, had to leave disappointed as they were told to go and come back the next day because there was nobody to attend to them.
Those who left the hospital disappointed included those who wanted to donate blood for some pregnant women.
Service explains
The Public Relations and Communications Officer of the NBTS, Mr Stephen Addai-Baah, admitted that the institution was understaffed and told the Daily Graphic that the service was managing the human resource available.
“Most of the people who work there are female nurses and most of them are pregnant, while others are nursing mothers, and so we are left with a few hands.
“It is not our policy to close by 3 p.m., but for now it is the adjustment we have to make and so we start early by 7.30 a.m. and by 2.p.m. we close registration but not the entire office.
“We know it is a challenge and we have made a request for some of the new nurses who have been employed recently,” he said.
A shortage of blood to meet the requirements of hospitals in the country means that hospitals are compelled to request relatives of patients, including the pregnant, to pre-deposit blood before the patients receive transfusion.
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According to experts, there are two primary reasons why pregnant women may need blood transfusion while pregnant — the development of severe anaemia close to their due date or haemorrhaging (bleeding) at some point during pregnancy.
Experience
It was anaemia that required Mr Junior Akakpo, the husband of a 29-year-old woman, to rush to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital with a request from the Achimota Hospital to donate two pints of blood to save his wife.
Mr Akakpo was at the hospital at 10 a.m., and after going through the routine checks required for the donation, he was told that his blood pressure was too high.
“I came at 10 a.m., and the doctor said I should wait. Later, they checked my blood pressure and said it was high and so I should bring another person. I told them a friend was coming but they said the time was over and so I should leave,” he alleged.
The time was 1.45 p.m. but the staff of the facility claimed they were understaffed and were supposed to close at 3 p.m.
“The Achimota Hospital said I should come and donate blood and bring my wife for the transfusion. If I say tomorrow, I would carry this woman to the hospital and back to the Achimota Hospital and before I realise, it would be a waste of time,” he said.
The man, who was willing to do anything to give his pregnant wife whom he claimed could not tear a water sachet because of weakness, said he was willing to deposit any amount at the Achimota Hospital.
“What I told myself was that tomorrow morning I would go to the Achimota Hospital for them to charge me any amount as deposit. After the blood donation, I could come for it. Whether it is GH¢500 or GH¢1,000, I’d pay,” he said.
Pregnant women and blood
Pregnant women with low haemoglobin levels have high risk of mortality, making it crucial for them to receive transfusion before very severe anaemia develops.
Doctors ensure the treatment of severe anaemia before labour.
Haemorrhaging, on the other hand, is bleeding excessively in an urgent situation. This bleeding can lead to severe anaemia. Transfusion is often required in order to counteract excessive blood loss. Haemorrhaging can occur at any time during pregnancy.
According to statistics from the Ghana Maternal Health Survey conducted by the Ghana Health Service in 2009, excessive bleeding contributed to about a quarter of the 905 maternal deaths recorded in the country.
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By 1.15 p.m. when this reporter got to the offices of the NBTS, a male nurse said registration was closed. By 2.10 p.m., more than a dozen people with requests similar to that of Mr Akakpo were asked to go home and come back the next day.
Mr Jonas Ackah, who said he had come to the hospital to donate blood for his wife before rushing to Kumasi, left frustrated and angry.
“It does not make sense. It is only 2.34 p.m. and they say they have closed. I thought this is a hospital and should run for 24 hours. I have a wife on a hospital bed who needs blood and see the flimsy excuse they are giving, ” he told the Daily Graphic.
But a nurse who declined to give her name said they could only work according to their capacity.
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“We can’t do more than we have done. There is a shift system that tells who comes to work on what day. There is only one person taking details and supervising donations. This is what we can do,” she said.
Ironically, behind the nurse was a Daily Graphic publication headlined: “Korle Bu in desperate need of blood donors.”
When that was pointed to her, she only smiled.
Over the years, the NBTS has been involved in campaigns to encourage the public to donate blood.
Worrying statistics
According to NBTS statistics, an estimated 350 units of blood are needed daily to serve the southern area blood centre of the service which covers the Accra metropolis and its environs, as well as the Central, Volta, Eastern and parts of the Western regions.
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WHO criteria
Ghana is currently far behind the World Health Organisation (WHO) criteria for collecting safe blood through 100 per cent voluntary sources by about 60 per cent, collecting only 40 per cent annually.
The country is plagued with seasonal blood shortages which normally occur in January, April, June, July and December.
During these periods, very few people donate blood and, in some cases, no donations at all.