The National Blood Services Zimbabwe (NBSZ) says the country is facing a shortage of blood due to a lack of resources to collect it from willing donors.
NBSZ chief executive Lucy Marowa on Monday told NewsDay that her organisation does not have adequate resources such as blood bags and test kits to collect the blood. She said:
The problem is not about blood donors, it is about resources. We are running short of resources that are a challenge on our side in terms of blood collection.
Donors are there and they are willing to donate. As an organisation, we are constrained in terms of the resources that we need in order for us to collect the blood that we need.
It is a myriad of challenges. It is not only financial problems but logistics and access to foreign currency, among other things.
The bottom line is we do not have blood bags and test kits at the moment. The issue of blood donations is a very emotional one.
People will come out in their numbers to donate so that they can save lives and mobilise people to donate.
If we do not have blood bags to collect blood, definitely donors will be turned away, that is another serious problem.
The shortage of blood is affecting both public and private institutions alike, and there is no preferential treatment on the basis of financial well-being.
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