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Zim blood bank running dry
01/03/2008 20:21 - (SA)
Harare - Zimbabwe's blood bank has just one third of the supplies it requires - the latest statistic that reveals a deepening crisis in the national health sector.
The National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS) has just 1 000 units of blood instead of the requisite 3 000 units, spokesperson Emmanuel Masvikeni told the state-controlled Herald newspaper.
"In case of any crisis, the blood is not adequate," said Masvikeni. He said the situation would worsen when school pupils, who contribute 75% of blood to the blood bank, go on holiday ahead of elections on March 29.
Zimbabwe has high rates of HIV/Aids and children are considered a safer source of blood, although all blood is screened before being sold to hospitals.
The NBTS was encouraging adults to support a "noble cause" by donating blood to boost supplies, state radio said on Saturday.
Operations stopped
This is the latest crisis to hit Zimbabwe's health sector, battered by economic challenges that include inflation of more than 100 000%, frequent power outages and chronic shortages of hard currency to import medical drugs.
Last week, Deputy Health Minister Edwin Muguti confirmed that the country's biggest hospital, Harare's Parirenyatwa Hospital, had stopped carrying out operations due to shortages of anaesthetic drugs and sterilising agents.
In January, it emerged that 50% of medical drugs were out of stock in pharmacies in Harare. The head of the Pharmaceutical Society of Zimbabwe said then that most pharmacies could not afford to import drugs. - Sapa-dpa
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Zimbabwe Special Report
