By Rodgers Omondi, Busia
Arsenal Kenya fans have called on the national and county governments to establish satellite blood screening and storage centres across the country to reduce delays in accessing blood and help save lives.
Speaking after donating blood and handing over medical equipment and drugs at Alupe Sub-County Hospital in Busia County, Arsenal Kenya chairperson Dennis Njau said the lack of adequate screening and storage facilities delays access to blood for patients requiring transfusions.
“There is a need for both the county and national government to ensure some of the facilities that help in screening, storage and testing of the blood are available and working at the county level. We should have satellite centres across all counties to prevent cases of prolonged time for blood to be taken at screening centres before serving those in need,” he said.
Njau said their initiative was driven by persistent blood shortages in health facilities across the county, noting that many emergency cases require urgent transfusions.
“We are donating blood due to the experienced deficit of blood in the county health facilities. Many times, we experience a lot of emergency cases in our health centres that need blood transfusion. That’s why as the fans, we are extending the passion and sharing the love by the act of donating blood,” he said.
He urged members of the public to make blood donation a regular practice rather than waiting for organised drives.
Evans Wangata, patron of the Arsenal Kenya Busia branch, said the fans were committed to supporting the community through donations and other initiatives.
“We have donated medical equipment and drugs at Alupe Sub-County Hospital to support our facility in improving the service delivery. This is what we need as giving back to the society and this will reach to many people in need,” he said.
Dr Loyce Ohenga, medical superintendent at Alupe Sub-County Hospital, said the blood donation would help address shortages in the county, which consumes about 200 units of blood weekly.
“We are pleased by the gesture of blood donation. As a country we always experience a shortage of blood where we consume about 200 units of blood in a week which makes it a scarce commodity. This blood is going to cater for our 58 blood transfusing facilities in our county,” she said.
Ohenga said the county’s location along the Kenya-Uganda border had increased demand for blood, as local health facilities also serve patients from neighbouring Uganda.
“We serve many people even from our neighbouring country of Uganda because we are at the border point. That has led to an increase in demand for blood. My appeal to the public is to come out and donate blood that will help to save the lives of our people,” she added.
The fans also called on county governments to invest in sports infrastructure and nurture young talent at the grassroots level.
Catherine Irandi, an Arsenal fan from the Kisii branch, said inadequate support for sports and a shortage of stadia at the grassroots level were limiting opportunities for young people to develop their talents.
“There is a lack of support by many county governments to support sports and nurture the talents that are many at the grass root level. We need many stadiums to be at the grass root level as this will provide a good avenue for young talents to be seen. We also need those given the mandate to lead sports departments to be those with a clear understanding of sports and this will increase the level of sports and professionalism in our country,” she said.
John Mondo of the Arsenal Kenya Busia branch said the fans were also using their gatherings to promote tourism by encouraging members from other countries to visit attractions in Busia.
“As fans when we meet, we also promote tourism sites. As for those fans who come from other counties, we encourage them to explore the tourist sites that are available in our county. We have good sites in Budalang’i up and Kakapel in Teso North to see our tourist sites,” he said.
The fans were in Busia County to launch the Arsenal Kenya Busia branch, making it the 22nd branch in the country. They also planted trees at the hospital as part of efforts to conserve the environment.
