BY TEWODROS KASSA
“The chairs are empty and waiting for you! Please come to donate blood today or tomorrow. Our current blood supply is very low; blood donations help to save the lives of those in accidents, surgeries, and other emergencies,” says a notice posted on the social media page of Soddo Christian Hospital.
True, there are several loyal Ethiopians who are heroes and heroines of humanity and known for donating blood in a regular manner to rescue the lives of people who are in need of blood due to various medical conditions.
Regardless of any differences, students, public and private organizations’ employees, artists, journalists, among others are actively participating in voluntary blood donation programs.
However, following shortage of different blood types in the Blood Bank, the Ethiopian Blood and Tissue Bank Service (EBTBS) has urged the community for more blood donation to save more lives. Particularly, due to scarcity of certain blood types, the Bank is compelled to call upon the society to visit nearly blood bank service centers and donate blood for the reason at this point in time there are numerous individuals who wait other’s blood donation to sustain their life.
The Ethiopian Blood and Tissue Bank Service (EBTBS) Deputy Director Habtamu Taye told The Ethiopia Herald that the number of voluntary blood donors is getting minimal due to overlapping of public festivals, schools’ semester break and fasting season.
According to him, peoples’ being overly busy following a series of festivals such as the Ethiopian Timket and Genna holidays during the recent times, caused limitations among the public to stick on the habit of donating blood continuously.
Thus, volunteers should continue to donate blood so as to meet blood shortages challenges across the country. As to him, though the culture of donating blood among the society has improved over time, they still have a lot of work to do.
“The standard set by the World Health Organization (WHO) requires that 1 % of
the country’s population should be blood donor. In this sense, we have a lot of work to do to meet the country’s blood demand.”
As to him, 10 % of the total blood donors should be regular blood donors in order to have a reliable blood reserve. This means that a blood donor should donate blood regularly every 3 months. Currently, the permanent donor the Bank has is 2.3 %.
Scarcity of blood supply can be addressed through volunteers’ continuous donation and their commitment to do so. Therefore, the Ethiopian Blood and Tissue Bank Service (EBTBS) calls on voluntary blood donors to continue donating this lifesaving fluid in all blood banks across the country.
According to him, in Addis Ababa the Bank is collecting blood in an organized way. Presently, there are 11 temporary blood collection sites.
Awareness raising activity is being done using various media to overcome the existing shortage; and the Bank is working with 147 high schools and 147 religious institutions in a bid to increase the number of volunteer blood donors. In the first half of the budget year, 167,850 units of blood was collected and distributed to medical institutions nationwide.
The National Blood Transfusion Services (NBTS) was established in 1969 by the Ethiopian Red Cross Society; since 2004 it has been transferred to Federal Ministry of Health Ethiopia, and entrusted with the responsibility of managing the Blood donors, collection, testing and transfusion of blood and blood products in Ethiopia.
Its main center is located in Addis Ababa and it has also the responsibility to oversee, support and monitor the activities of regional blood bank in the country which are administratively under their respective regional health bureaus.
In addition, it is responsible for mobilizing and recruiting blood donors; organizing blood collection sessions and collecting blood from blood donors. It is divided into central clinic (collects blood at the main office of the blood bank) and five mobile case teams which are responsible for conducting blood collection sessions outside the premises of the central blood bank.
The Ethiopian Herald February 16/2023
