Rotary Seeks Over Shs300m to Equip Mengo Hospital Blood Bank

Rotary Uganda will on February 28th, 2020 hold the 4th Annual Transformational Leadership Forum and concert to raise $100,000 (over Shs360m) to equip the Rotary Blood Bank at Mengo Hospital.

According to Ronald Kawadwa, chairperson Mengo Rotary Blood Bank, the money once collected will be used to complete the blood processing cycles that includes purchasing the Automatic Blood Grouping machine which determines the donated blood groups and the Floor Standing Centrifridge 6000i for blood component preparation and separation.

The purpose of this equipment will be an additional boost to the recently acquired transfusion transmissible infection testing machines.

“This year we are launching the 4th transformational leadership forum which will be held on February 28th this month at Serena Hotel. Unlike previous years where we have been holding concerts and bringing international musicians, this time we are doing it differently; we shall feature an array of prominent and inspirational acclaimed speakers who will address participants on topics ranging from transformational leadership, international collaborations, public private partnerships innovations and others. The forum will then be concluded with a dinner and concert featuring renowned local artistes,” Kawadwa said.

Among the inspirational speakers who will grace the event are; H.E Dominic Barton, Canada’s Ambassador to China, Professor PLO Lumumba from Kenya, Nabou Fall, a renowned author and blogger and President of the Women’s Investment Club in Ivory Coast. He added that last year’s proceeds were among others used to train a team of 6 doctors led by Dr. Frank Kakuba, Head of Blood Bank Mengo, who were trained in India.

During the press conference on Wednesday held at Serena Hotel, partners- Stanbic Bank and MTN Uganda donated Shs25m each for the cause.

“The reasons for blood shortage in the country are because of less collection and lack of processing of collected blood. Rotary has come to solve all those problems; they bought for us 4 vans, a good building, refrigerator and so far we collect 1200 units per month. But we rely on Uganda transmission services to process the blood which is overwhelmed. That is why we want to procure a machine that groups blood and separates blood into components. So this equipment will help us to process 200units a day,” Dr. Kakuba said.

Catherine Adengo, Corporate manager, Stanbic Bank, encouraged the public to donate blood saying that several Ugandans are always in desperate need for blood.

At the same press conference, singer Rema Namakula and husband Hamza Ssebunya were announced as Rotary Blood Bank ambassadors. The couple pledged to total commitment to sensitize and mobilize the public about the fundraise and need to donate blood. Rema will perform at the Rotary Blood Bank forum next week.

According to World Health Organization (WHO), Uganda needs at least 350,000 units of safe blood annually yet only 250,000 units of blood are collected. This prompted Rotary Uganda to construct the blood bank in Mengo which has collected about 9,647 units of blood since its establishment on 27th February 2017.