Poor procedures and quality control among nonaffiliated blood centers in Burkina Faso: an argument for expanding the reach of the national blood transfusion center

Abstract

Introduction The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends the creation of national blood transfusion services. Burkina Faso has a CNTS (Centre national de transfusion sanguine - National Blood Transfusion Center) but it currently covers only 53% of the national blood supply versus 47% produced by independent hospital blood banks. Study design To evaluate blood collection, testing, preparation and prescription practices in the regions of Burkina Faso that are not covered by the CNTS, we conducted a cross-sectional survey. Methodology Data were collected by trained professionals from May to June 2009, at 42 autonomous blood centers not covered by the CNTS. Results Blood collection was supervised in all sites by laboratory technicians without specific training. There was no marketing of community blood donation nor mobile collection. Donation was restricted to replacement (family) donors in 21.4% of sites. Pre-donation screening of donors was performed in 63.4% of sites, but some did not use written questionnaires. Testing for HIV, hepatitis B virus and syphilis was universal, although some sites did not screen for hepatitis C virus. In 83.3% of the sites blood typing was performed without reverse ABO typing. In 97.6% of the sites, nurses acted alone or in conjunction with a physician to order blood transfusions. Conclusion Shortcomings in non-CNTS blood centers argue for the development of a truly national CNTS. Such a national center should coordinate and supervise all blood transfusion activities, and is the essential first step for improving and institutionalizing blood transfusion safety and efficacy in a developing country.

External Financial Aid to Blood Transfusion Services in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Need for Reflection

“…Although the conditions of external financial assistance are discussed at the government level, practitioners on the ground are rarely consulted [14]–[17].…”

The Francophone Africa Blood Transfusion Research Network: a five‐year report (2007–2012)

“…Pendant cette période, sept projets ont été réalisés à l'échelon national et publiés [3,[6][7][8][9][10][11] et cinq travaux multicentriques ont été conduits et publiés [12][13][14][15][16]. Seuls ces derniers sont rapportés ci-dessous.…”

Knowledge and barriers related to reporting of acute transfusion reactions among healthcare workers in Namibia

“…However, while the vast majority of respondents, including doctors and nurses, were confident they could recognise an ATR, only a small minority correctly identified all 15 common signs and symptoms in a test question included in the survey. Given previous observations that transfusion-related education and knowledge is deficient in sub-Saharan Africa, these findings underscore the importance of continued integration of courses in transfusion practice, as well as, haemovigilance monitoring and reporting into pre- and in-service medical training programmes (Nebie et al ., 2011; Tagny et al ., 2011; Dahourou et al ., 2012). …”