I felt ashamed when I recently read in a local daily that eight people who were in urgent need of blood died at Fort portal regional referral hospital following an acute blood shortage in Fort Portal, Kabarole district.
This was a total wastage of lives and I can’t completely put the blame on the acute blood shortage in Fort Portal. It’s not like this is the first time hospitals have been facing this challenge. Blood shortage has always been a major problem.
But how come doctors in the past were able to handle these cases without any major fatalities?
It was simple, whenever doctors realized that a patient was in need of a blood transfusion with a case of blood shortage in the hospital, they always requested for the help of family members or friends.
Given that most siblings or parents share the same blood group, it was always easy to get people to donate blood for the patient.
But how come this wasn’t the case for the people who died in Fort Portal. Where were their families?
Or are people so selfish nowa days that they cannot sacrifice a little blood for their own family members. Or is it a case of HIV/AIDS? But even if it was a case of HIV/AIDS, the whole family cannot be infected.
Whatever the case, these people didn’t have to die unnecessarily if they had families that could donate them blood. The ministry should come out to educate Hospital staff on this fact which might have been overlooked.
Kabonge Dennis, Mpigi
