St. Mary’s Hospital Lacor in Gulu is facing a severe blood shortage leaving
patients in dire need of blood transfusion services.
Dr Venice Omona, the in-charge of the Paediatrics Ward says that
the most affected include the casualty ward, maternity and children ward.
Omona explained the children ward requires 20 units of blood daily
for children suffering from acute malaria and sickle cell anaemia.
However, he noted that the ward receives less than 5 units of
blood leaving the larger number of patients to get blood from their relatives.
"We have lost patients here who required blood transfusions at the
time we couldn't help and deaths have continued to occur" Dr Omona
added.
Jonathan Opiyo, the Laboratory Technician in the hospital revealed that the
hospital requires 70 units of blood for patients every day but only gets 20
units from Uganda Blood Bank.
Opiyo, however, explained that the staff in the hospital had been
donating blood to close on the gaps but noted that the majority of them are now
exhausted.
Opiyo further revealed the highest prevalence of Hepatitis B in
the region is among the major factors affecting blood donations.
//Cue in: “apparently we are… "
Cue out: “…is one of.//
Alice Aciro a 50-year-old woman from Buyale Trading Centre in
Kyrandongo District is among the mothers with children battling sickle cell anaemia
in the hospital whose lives depend on blood transfusions.
Aciro has been to the hospital for the last three months with one
of her grandsons battling with sickle cell anaemia. She says that the
nurses were able to save her son with blood offer when the hospital had
completely run out of the blood.
Simon Wokorach
Freelancer