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Sukoluhle Ndlovu, Midlands Correspondent
THE National Blood Services of Zimbabwe has embarked on an outreach blood donation campaign in Midlands Province following reports that the province was facing severe shortages of blood group O type.
NBSZ planning and recruitment officer for Midlands Province, Mr Aggrey Ngazana said the shortage of blood group O type was due to the fact that there were very few people with the blood group type.
“We are struggling to contain the shortage of O blood type in the province. This is due to the fact that there are very few people with that blood type, therefore it is hard to get, and very few people are heeding the call to donate blood,” said Mr Ngazana.
He said they had embarked on an outreach programme to educate communities about donating blood to save lives.
“Blood is life and we have been going around communities educating residents and villagers about the benefits of donating blood. We have also been to people’s workplaces as we try to reach out to many people,” said Mr Ngazana.
He said NBSZ has partnered with institutions like Midlands State University and TelOne to boost the blood bank.
“We have engaged MSU and TelOne as we try to avert the crisis. We have also roped in guys from laboratories to help us identify people with O blood group type,” said Mr Ngazana.
He said the NBSZ was, however, fully stocked with other blood groups.
“For other blood groups we are adequately supplied and we are grateful to the public for making sure they we are never out of stock.”
Early this year, Government slashed the price of blood at Government health institutions to $50, following the injection of a $4, 2 million subsidy from the Health Levy.
Online Reporter