Man dies as lack of blood rocks hospital

A section of residents took to the streets Monday in protests after a patient died at the county referral hospital due to lack of blood.

The family of Sergeant (Rtd) Michael Were said he died while awaiting to undergo blood transfusion.

A spot check by the Daily Nation revealed that patients could not be taken to theatre because the hospital does not have blood.

“The management of the hospital made efforts to look for blood from other facilities. They got one pint from Nangina Mission Hospital but it was not enough,” Mr Chrispinus Juma, a family member, said.

Mr Were was taken to the hospital after he was hit by a car at Port Victoria Market and then taken to Port Victoria Hospital for first aid.

However, there were claims the hospital demanded Sh6,000 before releasing its ambulance to transfer him to the county hospital.

“He was just left writhing in pain with no one attending to him as we were out sourcing for the money,” Mr Juma said.

Heath Chief Officer Asoka Itur said there was no stock of blood by the time the patient was brought in and that they have launched a blood donation drive.

The said they did not have a blood transfusion centre in the region, instead, they only have a satellite station.

“Our hospitals lack laboratories and this forces us to take donated blood to Kisumu for screening before using it on a patient,” Dr Itur said.

The situation has been compounded further due to lack of blood preservation equipment at the referral hospital.