NBTS satisfied with pace of blood donation

Ten months after issuing an advisory on a severe shortage of blood, the National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS) has now reported that such a shortage no longer exists.
National Blood Donor Manager of the blood bank, Shameeza Mangal, told Kaieteur News yesterday that due to the many blood donation exercises by various organisations, and the support received from voluntary donors, the NBTS has been able to meet its weekly buffer stock of 144 units of blood.
Recently, the NBTS and the Ministry of Health honoured 105 organisations for making the blood situation in Guyana a success story.
From January to June, the blood bank has been able to acquire some 68 per cent of voluntary donors, something that Mangal described as a significant improvement compared to previous years.
Although the NBTS is not in dire need of any blood at this time, Mangal emphasised that persons need to continuously donate, if the situation is to remain at the level it is currently.
Recently, the Ministry of Health advised all private hospitals to establish a blood bank at their institutions, in an effort to ease the long process of requesting blood from the NBTS.
Minister of Health, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy had stated that while the NBTS will provide the private hospitals with the blood they need, accountability will play a major role in this process.
The Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) recently established its own blood bank. It no longer has to make a direct request to the blood bank every time a patient needs blood.
“They should never have any need to make request from the NBTS. They would have to account for the blood given to them, so everyday an accounting is done and the blood is replaced that they used,” Minister Ramsammy had said.
If the same practice is adopted by the private health institutions, then they would not be required to make any request for blood from the blood bank. (Fareeza Haniff).