By Sulayman Waan
A senior paediatrician has said that Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital (EFSTH) lacks sufficient fridge where blood sachets can be kept
Dr Adama Sallah who spoke to The Voice in an interview, said: “proper blood donation and blood storage system is required. This thing is not fully adequate at the EFSTH. We have limited blood storage system.”
He revealed that during this year’s World blood donation day held under the theme “Safe Blood Save Lives” and with a slogan “Give Blood and Make the World a Healthier Place,” which Gambia Armed Forces officers and personnel donated blood in all hospitals and health centres around the country.
He said the exercise was aimed at complementing the efforts of the Ministry of Health in facilitating adequate supply of blood to Gambians.
During world blood donation day, he disclosed “the hospital could not take blood from all the military officers because there are insufficient blood bank refrigerators in the hospital.”
“First and foremost it is difficult to get Gambians to donate blood but where you have it, like security forces and other similar bodies come to donate blood. You have a limited capacity for how you can store it.”
However, he called on government to provide adequate blood bank fridges and freezers to the major referral hospital.
EFSTH is Gambia’s main referral hospital which takes patients from the country’s big hospitals including Bansang, Farafenni, Bwiam, Kanifing General Hospitals.
