By François Kwatani
The Malawi Blood Transfusion Services (MBTS) has called for more support from government and stakeholders to enhance its capacity in the provision of adequate supplies of safe blood and blood products to patients in all hospitals in the country.
MBTS Public Relations Manager Allen Kaombe said the organization needs resources to improve its infrastructure, blood machineries and products used in blood transfusion processes.
He made the call on Tuesday as Malawi joins the rest of the world in commemorating the World Blood Donor Day on June 14, 2022 under the theme; “Donating blood is an act of solidarity, join the effort and save lives”.
Kaombe said a blood donor is an important piece in any society therefore the event will be commemorated in four designated districts in order to increase blood donation awareness.
“We are going to commemorate the day on June 18 this year in Blantyre, Balaka, Lilongwe and Mzuzu to ensure that every individual has access to commemorate the blood donor day,” Kaombe said.
“Malawi requires 120,000 units of blood per year, however voluntary blood donations currently fail to meet the requirement and this affects universal access of safe blood and blood products for those in need of transfusions.”
