By Mildrred Christiana Saccoh in Makeni
The Coronavirus pandemic has had a negative effect on the operations of the Blood Bank in Makeni, where officials say fear of contracting the virus as well as social distancing measures have kept potential donors away.
Alex Karim, Lab Technician in charge of the Blood Bank in the Regional Referral Hospital in Makeni City, said prior to Covid-19, turnout of voluntary donors had been “impressive”, noting that they had enough blood to provide anyone who needed it.
“Because of the many restrictions, the Blood Bank is [now] purely operating on family replacement system,” Karim said, speaking in the context of the commemoration of World Blood Donor Day last week.
Family replacement means that when someone needs blood transfusion, their family member will be required to donate blood as a replacement for the quantity transfused. But this is usually a problem for many people, as it’s hard to come by willing donors, due to misconceptions about blood donation in the Sierra Leonean society.
The World Blood Donor Day, celebrated on the 14th June every year, is used to reflect on the importance of blood donation and development within the sector.
Availability of blood is a crucial aspect of Sierra Leone’s fight against infant and maternal mortality, which are at epidemic levels in the country. World Health organization figures show that Sierra Leone has the highest maternal mortality ratios in the world. And one of the major causes of maternal death in the country is bleeding.
Officials told Politico that not only did Covid-19 prevent the Makeni regional hospital and its partners to raise funds for its usual commemoration, it also prevented them from holding any programme this year due to social distancing requirements.
Karim explained that in previous years, they had campaigns geared towards educating the public on the importance of blood donation and tried to allay fears around blood donation.
Lansana Mansaray, District Blood Donor Chairman at the Sierra Leone Red Cross Society, dilated on the role of voluntary blood donors and the role collaboration with the hospital plays in enhancing the service. He noted that the turnout of blood donors improved immensely ever since the blood donation responsibility was handed over to the Government Referral Hospital by the Red Cross Society, adding that the hospital took “full advantage of previous volunteers” and that anytime a call for donation was made, new donors always came forward.
“We have a pool of donors we could engage at any given time to donate at the referral government hospital,” he said.
Through the partnership, between the hospital and the Red Cross, they moved around schools to establish focal persons who helped to recruit and maintain a list of volunteers, which currently has over 500 voluntary blood donors on it.
One of these is Paul Kamara, a lecturer at the University of Makeni, who says donating blood makes him feel like a hero. He explained that he became a voluntary donor after he realized that many people were dying due to shortage of blood.
“Society can only be great if we strive hard to becoming selfless by providing help to the impoverished sick persons. I encourage all to imbibe in themselves the desire and passion to donate blood as it saves life,” he said.
Ramatu Kamara, a trader, sees blood donation as a service she has dedicated her life to. She explained that she accepted when her child was admitted to the hospital at a time when she had nothing.
Someone donated blood to her dying son, she said.
“Ever since, I have promised to donate to save the lives of other individuals that could be in the same situation that I was in,” she said.
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