Kenyans can now book online to donate blood

Digital health startup, Damu Sasa, has rolled out a new feature that enables donors to book appointments with blood centres online.

Booking appointments online, the firm said, makes blood donation process convenient and faster for donors while enabling them to observe Covid-19 regulations set by the Ministry of Health.

Damu Sasa co-founder Aaron Ogunde noted that the app ensures that few people visit blood donation centres at a time, making the process convenient.

The innovation runs on an SMS-based platform, making it accessible by people without smartphones, computers or even internet. Data shows that in every 10 minutes, seven Kenyans need blood. This means Kenya needs between 500,000 and 1 million units of blood in order to save patients in dire need of transfusions.

The country has been hard-pressed to hit the target. Last year, Kenya collected 250,000 units of blood, according to the Kenya National Blood Transfusion Service (KNBTS), 2021.

Mothers and children account for 60 percent of those who need blood transfusions, with mothers requiring blood mainly just after delivery.

Damu Sasa, an innovative end-to-end blood services information management system, supports blood sourcing, inventory management and transfusion management.

The tech firm has been working to plug the blood deficit and has so far registered 40,611 donors in 37 counties on its platform.

In Kenya, one is eligible to donate blood as long as they are between ages of 16 and 65.