Health Cabinet Secretary Sicily Kariuki has appealed to the public and corporates to step up and donate blood to save lives.
The CS said Wednesday the country has a shortage of blood yet every 10 minutes, about seven Kenyans need blood and are at the risk of dying.
Kariuki said the country needed about 1,000,000 units of blood annually but only 164,275 units were collected last year by the Kenya National Blood Transfusion Service.
“Every 10 minutes we have a Kenyan in need of blood. We can save Kenyan’s lives if we consistently give blood,” Sicily Kariuki @MOH_Kenya CS pic.twitter.com/uIOfRgTJNI
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— Ministry of Health (@MOH_Kenya) September 11, 2019
She said the amount was significantly below the annual target as per World Health Organization recommendations.
The CS said to ensure sustainability in the blood bank, the Ministry would implement routine blood drives through increased public awareness.
She said they would develop a robust legislative and regulatory framework to strengthen the blood transfusion governance structures and facilitate steady availability of the Country’s blood needs.
The health CS made the remarks as she launched a week long blood donation drive in Nairobi. The highest blood donor in the world, Arjun Prasad Mainali is in the country to support the blood donation drive.
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