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Kenya set to begin digital blood banks

Xinhua, January 16, 2015 Adjust font size:

Digital management of the blood banks in Kenya is expected to begin in February following completion of installation of the eProgesa software in the Kenya National Blood Transfusion Services (KNBTS) systems.

KNBTS spokesman Joseph Kamotho said the agency is at advanced stages of completing the process.

"We have only been held back with the delay in the procurement of the hardware, otherwise we could have rolled out the new system in November last year," Kamotho told Xinhua by telephone on Friday.

"However, this should be happening in February as we are fast tracking the process," Kamotho added.

Establishment of the electronic system would advance the services of the agency since it will provide a framework for keeping a confidential virtual record of all the blood donors and sum of the available units of the product.

Regularly, the system would be generating short messages electronically and send them to the blood donors kept in the database whose time for making a subsequent donation has matured.

Annually, the agency requires 400,000 units of blood to meet the demand which rises from accidents, delivering mothers and surgery among others.

"Our desire has always been keeping an adequate supply of the safe blood so that whenever there is a need, we are able to provide immediately," said Kamotho.

The system will also enable the blood agency identify unsafe blood donors upon which the officers will give them further advice and refer them to relevant medical personnel. Endi