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Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | A 22-year-old woman has lost her life at Apac Hospital due to lack of blood for transfusion.
Sandra Akello, a resident of Adok village, Alworoceng parish in Ibuje sub county was referred to Apac General Hospital by Reproductive Health Uganda following a forced abortion.
She was pronounced dead shortly after arrival at the hospital. Doctors say she had lost a lot of blood and needed urgent blood transfusion. However, by the time she got to the hospital, the blood bank was empty.
Dr. Sabiiti Fanuel, the Acting Medical Superintendent at Apac Hospital confirmed the death of the mother, saying there was nothing that could they could do to save her life.
He says at the time of Akello’s death, their laboratory team was collecting blood from Lira Regional Referral Hospital.
Records from the laboratory show that it has been one week since Apac Hospital ran out of blood. The last 15 units of blood were collected on December 24th, 2019 from Gulu Blood Bank and used to save 26 lives.
On January 9th, 2020, the Hospital Administration was forced to borrow a unit of blood from Florence Nightingale, a private Hospital in the neighborhood to save the life of a little child brought in the emergency ward.
Eight clients required blood transfusion between January 6th and 10th. All were waiting on the blood from Lira.
Julius Peter Odyek, the senior laboratory technologist and lab manager at Apack Hospital, says the biggest challenge is that at times there is blood, which isn’t compatible with the blood type of the recipients.
Joseph Onuk, the Ssenior administrator Apac Hospital called on everyone to donate blood in order to save others, saying blood is life.
Gulu Regional Referral Hospital host Gulu Regional Blood Bank, the only supplier of blood in Northern Uganda.
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