What the blood transfusion service has done for Kabarole hospital

- communication from Mrs Ruth Isingoma, matron, Kabarole Hospital

'It is a wonderful experience to see a patient walk from hospital, especially after she or he has spent some days lying hopelessly in bed. The Blood Transfusion Service has greatly contributed to such encounters in Kabarole hospital. Many patients, patients' relatives and friends have been observed expressing words of gratitude to the hospital staff as well as praising God for the availability of the same.

'Individual patients, the hospital staff and the public as a whole have all shared the benefits of blood transfusion. Patients include those that need emergency blood transfusion as has been in cases of road traffic accidents, ante-partum haemorrhage, post-partum haemorrhage, plus emergency operations.

'Many lives of such patients have been saved by the blood which is now available all the time. Some other patients need blood therapeutically. Severe anaemia due to pregnancy, acute or chronic diseases common in either adults or children have been combated by blood transfusion. Those that are admitted for planned operations go through theatre successfully. 'The AIDS scourge need not be left unmentioned as transfusion of safe blood is one of the hospital's main achievements. This has brought about a good hospital-public relationship. People have gained more confidence in the hospital.

'Some years past, when faced with a crisis of saving patients' lives in the absence of blood, the hospital would ask the patients' relatives or friends to take the responsibility of getting urgent blood donors. In most cases, they were not successful as it involved high costs. That is when patients with road traffic accidents, ante-partum haemorrhage, post-partum haemorrhage and others in need of urgent blood transfusion lost their lives. Today the same task is no longer given to the patients or friends, since the blood bank does that effectively.

'Since it has achieved such an advantageous goal, the hospital prays for the persistence of the service.'

UGANDA'S BLOOD TRANSFUSION CENTRES