Publications

Uganda, a developing East African nation with nearly 20% of its populace living below thepoverty line, faces significant constraints in its national blood transfusion service. Despiteserving over 3 million individuals in Regional Referral Hospitals, a chronic scarcity ofblood persists, impacting critical healthcare provisions, notably at Mulago, Uganda’sNational Referral Hospital. This study conducted a meticulous assessment of theindications and influential factors shaping blood transfusion services at KampalaInternational University Teaching Hospital, Ishaka-Bushenyi, adopting a prospectivedescriptive cross-sectional design encompassing a 100% review of the target patientpopulation receiving blood transfusions. Employing a pretested questionnaire as the datacollection instrument, the gathered information underwent meticulous coding, sorting,entry, and analysis utilizing statistical software. Results were systematically presentedthrough tables and charts. The findings revealed that a considerable proportion (42.3%) oftransfused individuals fell within the age range of 20-39 years, with infants and youngchildren (<5 years) comprising 22.4% of the recipients. Males accounted for 58.7% of thetransfused population. Predominant indications for blood transfusions included anemia(30.4%), obstetric and gynecological conditions (23.4%), surgical operations (19.0%),infections (14.2%), and incidents involving road traffic accidents or assault (13.0%). Thestudy identified the availability of a blood storage facility as a significant factor motivatingthe utilization of blood transfusion services, with an 87.4% availability rate reported.Notably, the demand for transfusions was notably high among females (56.1%) compared tomales (43.9%), with anemia (53.3%) and blood group O (48.6%) constituting the majority ofcases. Blood group distributions varied across different indications, with group O beingpredominant in most categories. Additionally, the Rh factor played a role, with Rh+constituting 90.5% of cases and Rh- comprising 9.5%. Blood Group O had the highestoccurrence of Rh+, while Blood Group A had the highest occurrence of Rh-. In summary, thestudy outlined several prominent factors influencing blood transfusion indications atKIUTH, notably anemia, obstetric and gynecological conditions such as postpartumhemorrhage and cesarean sections, surgical procedures (e.g., abdominal obstructions),infections (e.g., malaria), and incidents involving road traffic accidents or assault. Theseindicators are influenced by factors such as blood availability, age, gender, medicalconditions, and blood type, with Blood Group O Rh+ being the most prevalent.Keywords: Blood transfusion, Gynaecology, Anaemia, Blood Group O.