Three years since the programme was created, results remain mitigated as the number of deaths due to blood shortage keeps rising.
It is certainly not by error that the Association of Voluntary Blood Donors and the Douala Red Cross decided to merge efforts in a bid to mobilise the population to freely and happily supply blood to hospitals in the country. In effect, the deficit of blood in hospitals nationwide and its devastating consequences to the lives of the population leave no one indifferent.
Statists are quite disturbing. The document justifying the creation, organisation and functioning of the National Blood Transfusion Programme in Cameroon states inter alia that over 400,000 sachets of blood are needed every year for the treatment of patients in Cameroonian hospitals. According to the officials of the Association of Voluntary Blood Donors, the deficit is in the neighbourhood of about 350,000 sachet s.
The creation in 2013 of the National Blood Transfusion Programme (PNTS) by the decree of the Prime Minister had as mission to provide lasting solution to this deficit. The programme was charged among others with drawing up national policy on blood transfusion, defining applicable standards on the national territory; planning, executing, coordinating, following up and evaluating the implementation of activities related to blood transfusion; and promoting voluntary gift from the population.
Three years after its creation, no significant change seems to have been recorded. What should be responsible for this state of affairs is the question on many minds. The population remains absolutely lukewarm in spite of the medley of campaign sessions organised by PNTS.
In one of its campaign sessions having as slogan “Together let us give a bit of our blood to save lives”; an initiative supported by the Ministry of Public Health, the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, and the World Health Organisation, PNTS printed pamphlets and organised media talks to underscore the importance of the exercise.
Among the clarifications in its main brochure, the programme gave explanations on the following: who should give out blood, at what moment should we donate blood, what does the Blood Bank do with the blood, who should not give blood, to whom should it be given and what benefit from freely giving out blood. Blood once given out is examined freely to diagnose HIV, Hepatitis B and C, blood group and syphilis among others. What else remains to be done to reward free blood donors is the one million dollar question.
