Hospitals in Nyanza are experiencing a blood shortage after power was disconnected at the regional blood bank over an unpaid Sh2.6 million electricity bill.
The power was disconnected last Friday.
On Wednesday, donors protested blood shortage, saying they had been donating blood, yet it was out of stock when needed.
Head of regional blood centre Magdalene Morogo declined to comment on the matter and referred the Star to the national blood transfusion services chief executive officer.
Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital chief executive officer George Rae confirmed the blood crisis.
“There is a crisis because the regional blood transfusion centre has no electricity. It was disconnected due to unpaid bills,” Rae said.
He said the Ministry of Health, through the National Blood Transfusion Services, was responsible for the bill.
The medic, however, said they are working on resolving the issue. He said they are currently keeping blood within JOOTRH.
“If we get donors, we send blood to Nairobi through expedited mail for processing for people to get processed blood,” Rae said.
“Bood must be processed because it carries a lot of illnesses, one of them being HIV and hepatitis.”
Rae said the situation will not last more than a week before it goes back to normal.
“We are addressing the crisis. Temporary storage is at JOOTRH and the processing is being done in Nairobi because the processing equipment uses electricity,” he said.
Rae said they depend on other hospitals for blood in case of any emergency.
“We have good relationships with other hospitals such as Aga Khan and Avenue. When we don’t have blood and there is an emergency they give us, and vice versa,” Rae said.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris