Blood transfusion is at the center of modern medicine. Unfortunately, blood shortages that lead to national blood crises are very common in Africa. It’s a major issue of our time. In Cameroon, the national demand is estimated at 400,000 pints per year, but in 2019, only 91,047 pints were collected; that is 23% of the national demand. The blood collected is used during surgical operations but also in the treatment of pathologies such as leukemia or sickle cell disease. A shortage of blood, therefore, has dramatic repercussions, which can go as far as death, especially in the case of serious accidents or hemorrhages in surgery.

Among the people most affected by this shortage of blood are pregnant women. According to the National Center for Blood Transfusion, 20 women die every day from complications related to childbirth. Among these complications, postpartum hemorrhages are the most frequent. 

Goals

The 2021/2022 edition of Blood4All had two main objectives. The first objective was to educate people, especially young people, on the importance of voluntary and regular blood donation. In Cameroon, because of religious and cultural beliefs, questions relating to blood and transfusion are taboos among populations who are therefore wary of them.

The second objective was to contribute to the reduction of the mortality rate among pregnant women, thanks to a partnership with HGOPY (Gyneco-Obstetrics and Pediatric Hospital of Yaoundé). The collected pints of blood went to HGOPY’s blood bank and were used for the treatment of pregnant women.

For this 2021/2022 edition, we have organized 3 "sensitization and donation" campaigns on the campuses of 3 universities. The last campaign was organized on the campus of the University of Yaoundé 1 in Ngoa-Ekelle, on June 14, 2022, as a celebration of World Blood Donor Day.

In total, we have collected 203 pints of blood and sensitized up to 10 000 university students on the importance of regular and voluntary blood donations.

We are confident that the success of our next editions will be the result of the massive sensitization we did this year.

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