Africa Blood Transfusion Congress kicks off

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The 11th International Africa Society for Blood Transfusion Congress 2024 kicked off yesterday at the Muyonyo Convention Centre in Kampala. This is the first time Uganda is hosting the congress.

The four-day congress running under the theme: Adapting Global Innovations advancements in blood transfusion services, has attracted over 500 specialists in blood services and scientists to devise ways of sustaining and scalling up blood transfusion services in Africa.

The first day’s discussion focused on patient blood management intervention, which is multi-disciplinary.

"Transfusion clinician Aggrey Ddabangi said the patient blood management approach has got pillars and the first is treating anemia, which is the leading cause of transfusion.

Secondly, if someone is bleeding after a car crash or during childbirth, health workers need to reduce the need for transfusion. It is also the responsibility of the community and individuals to minimise the need for transfusion by preventing malaria, which is the main cause of anaemia by sleeping under insecticide-treated mosquito nets," Ddabangi said. 

A medical laboratory officer at the Kenya National Blood Transfusion Services said if this practice is adopted by all clinicians, there will be less need for blood given that most countries in the region are grappling with a shortage of blood.

The minister of health Dr Jane Ruth Aceng Acero appending her signature

Uganda health minister Dr Jane Ruth Aceng said the congress will equip specialists with scientific knowledge, sharing of life experiences, adding value to what has already been done.

Aceng further noted that the timely availability of safe blood and blood products is vital in saving the lives of patients with severe anemia and treating crash victims; mothers with complications of pregnancy and childbirth, cancer treatment, heart surgery, sickle cell patients, and conducting surgical operations.

Uganda Blood Transfusion Services (UBTS) director Dorothy Kyeyune Byabazaire said the scientific meeting will enhance the exchange of knowledge in blood transfusion services, adopt new clinical procedures for blood transfusion as well as new ICT innovations and technologies in blood transfusion.

Health Ministry clinical services director Dr Charles Olaro said this congress will help equip experts with the knowledge to improve community mobilisation for blood donations, management at the same time optimise what is collected so that you can be able to use the different blood products, such as platelets or plasma.

As part of the congress opening activities, the UBTS national reference and testing laboratory was unveiled on which Aceng appended her signature. 

This comes at a time when Uganda is grappling with a shortage of blood.

World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that for a country to be sufficient it should be able to collect 1% of its population. Considering the situation of Uganda with a population of approximately 45 million, this implies that what is deemed sufficient is about 450,000 units of blood. Yet last year alone, the national blood bank collected only 330,000 units, which is insufficient for the need.