HIV screening scares blood donors in Cameroon

Blood banks of major hospitals in the republic of Cameroon are increasingly going dry as donors fear they may be proved HIV positive

Yemti Harry Ndienla

Dr.Tchuanga of the Buea Provincial hospital Annex, made a loud cry recently calling on members of the public for help. But his cry will certainly fall on deaf hears. “I don’t see myself going to donate blood again”, said a blood donor who begged not to be named. To him going through HIV/AIDS screening is something he’s not prepared for. “I rather die without knowing my status than to know”, said another donor who is unsure donor.
Over in Douala, the country’s economic capital, the situation is worst. Of some 40.000 blood bags needed at the Douala Laquintinie Hospital ’s blood bank in 2008, only 12.000 have been collected a little bit above midway into the year. Consequently, there are increasing fears over the blood transfusion centre’s capability to satisfy rising demand; not leaving out threatening stocks exhaustion.
Like the case in Buea, and other major Hospitals around the country, despite consistent communication begging for benevolent donation and other operations at Laquintinie Hospital (the biggest health facility in Littoral), city dwellers have remained taciturn.
Madeleine Mbangue, head of the Laquintinie Hospital blood transfusion center told The Herald Newspaper that only a skimpy 30 generous donors on the average from a population of about three million usually turn up to give blood per session. “Even on the occasion of World Blood Donation Day last 14 June, only 49 people turned up to give blood”.
Mbangue revealed further that of the 49 new blood bags collected, three were discarded for being contaminated by Hepatitis based to tests conducted on them. However, Mbangue, made it clear that though none of the discarded blood contained HIV, one of the major reasons bringing down the number of donors was the fear of their being screened for the deadly disease.
Hear her “People are afraid of knowing their status and so would not come to give blood no matter how hard we try to convince them. They are scared of being informed they have the virus”.
Mbangue refute allegation that donated blood is used as a source of income by the hospital’s blood centre officials who have been accused by members of the public of selling a blood bag at 14.000 FCFA. “ We don’t sell blood”, she maintained
Reiterating “the money demanded is only intended to cover the cost of several tests carried out on the donated blood to avoid contaminating patients during transfusions”
Beside the fear of being screened for HIV/AIDS, it was becoming increasingly hard to win the fidelity of donors who complain of ill treatment. Some of them are sometimes blocked at the main hospital entrance and asked to pay an entry fee (The fee was only recently scrapped.) of 100 FCFA, while others have been complaining of the money they spend in paying taxis to attend the blood donation at various the hospitals
In effect, most Hospitals are planning to take the blood donation campaign out - into the neighborhoods, like the case of Douala III area where a donation exercise supervised by the Mayor was conducted recently.
It should be noted here that the Laquintinie Hospital blood bank, serves other hospitals in the country and even in neighboring Equatorial Guinea. And with the increasing rates of accidents and threat of violence in the country like that of February – March 2008, which emptied the blood bank, need for assuring supplies are particularly high.