DEMAND FOR BLOOD RISES:

THE recent downward review in blood prices from $120 per pint to $50 has led to a significant increase in demand for blood and blood products, thereby creating shortages in common blood groups, the National Blood Services Zimbabwe (NBSZ) has said.

There are shortages of blood group O, which is the blood type for an estimated 52 percent of the local population.

NBSZ chief executive Ms Lucy Marowa said the national blood bank was sitting on a day’s stock for blood group O.

She appealed for urgent donation of blood, especially from people with the same blood group.

“The stock for blood group O is critically low and is in low supply,” said Ms Marowa.

“We are appealing for people in the blood group O to donate blood and if possible, a shift from young people to adults, so as to scale up collections.”

The increase in demand has prompted NBSZ to revise upwards its annual blood collection target to 70 000 pints from 65 000 pints.

According to Ms Marowa, while prices were still pegged at $100, the projected demand for 2016 was 65 000 pints, but this was revised to 70 000 following a reduction to $80 a pint.

She noted that the recent decline of prices to $50 would necessarily mean demand was expected to rise.

“We have noticed the gradual increase in demand for blood and this is why I am saying although we had estimated that we would collect 70 000 last year, we were using the price of $80, but since it has further dropped to $50, we anticipate that it will definitely be more than 70 000,” she said.

NBSZ, she said, was still working on projections on how many people might need blood during the course of this year.

Ms Marowa said the spike in demand was not driven by prices only, but by increased access to blood and blood products.

There are only five distribution centres of blood in Zimbabwe — Harare has two, while Bulawayo, Mutare and Hwange have one centre each, which makes it difficult for patients outside these areas to access blood.

Ms Marowa said NBSZ intended to work with Government in helping hospitals to establish blood storage facilities that were expected to supply clinics in the areas they operated.

Some hospitals, she said, were not ordering blood because they did not have storage facilities.

Government recently injected $4,7 million to help NBSZ subsidise blood prices.

Before Government’s intervention, NBSZ, through its own cost-cutting measures, had managed to reduce the prices from $120 to $100 a pint.

Before dropping to $100 in October 2016, a pint of blood was pegged at $135, a figure that was beyond the reach of many.

The cost of blood remains high at private health institutions, where it is pegged at $120.

NBSZ used to give blood to hospitals on credit, but it discontinued the facility after most institutions failed to pay for the blood.

Patients are now required to pay cash upfront f to access blood, which is presenting challenges, particularly for less privileged patients.

Maternal patients and accident victims are the largest consumers of blood and blood products.