article · Tanzania journal of health research/Tanzania Journal of Health Research
Movement restrictions and public fear during the COVID-19 pandemic severely disrupted voluntary blood donation, resulting in acute blood shortages. A retrospective cross-sectional evaluation examined blood donor data from static clinics across National Blood Transfusion Service zonal centres in Tanzania between January and June 2020. The intervention evaluated was active blood donor recall conducted via mobile phone calls and short message service messages. Across the participating centres, 4,800 people donated blood during this timeframe, with male donors comprising 83.1 percent of the total. Implementing active donor recall yielded 2,669 blood units, which constituted 56 percent of all donations and represented an 11 percent increase in collections. Direct outreach to past donors by telephone and text messaging successfully boosted voluntary blood donation rates during crisis conditions.
Pandemics and emergency movement restrictions can critically deplete national blood banks, threatening lives that depend on transfusions. Demonstrating that simple communication tools, such as mobile phone calls and text messages, can successfully mobilise past donors offers public health services an inexpensive and immediate mechanism to maintain life-saving blood supplies during severe healthcare crises.
This work demonstrates an applied, field-tested operational approach suitable for blood transfusion services, healthcare providers, and mobile health software developers. The findings indicate that automated or structured donor-recall communication platforms, using phone calls and SMS, can be readily deployed by health authorities to secure blood supplies. The technique relies on established telecommunications channels and requires minimal technical development to scale.
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Introduction: During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was widespread fear across the globe, and blood safety and blood supply were similarly affected. Measures to combat the pandemic, such as restrictions on movement and public gatherings, had dire consequences for voluntary blood donation, leading to acute blood shortages for most blood safety organizations. This study aimed to assess the impact of active donor recall on blood collection as a response to improve blood supply in Tanzania during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study involving the secondary analysis of blood donor data from eight National Blood Transfusion Service zonal centres, collected at static clinics between January and June 2020. Data analysis was conducted using Microsoft Excel and SPSS version 26, and the results are presented in frequency tables. Results: During the study period, 4,800 individuals donated blood at the three zonal centre static clinics. The majority, 3991 (83.1%), were males. More donations were made during the active blood donor recall, with 2,669 units contributing 56% of all donations, representing an 11% increase. Conclusion: Blood donor recalls via mobile phone calls and SMS enhanced and promoted voluntary blood donation in Tanzanian health settings.
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DOI: 10.4314/thrb.v26i4.11
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