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Parirenyatwa bemoans high blood user fees

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Health and Child Care minister David Parirenyatwa has said blood user fees continue to be a thorn in the flesh of the government, as many patients at public health institutions cannot afford to access the product due to high costs.

Health and Child Care minister David Parirenyatwa has said blood user fees continue to be a thorn in the flesh of the government, as many patients at public health institutions cannot afford to access the product due to high costs.

By Vanessa Gonye

In a speech read on his behalf at the Blood Donor Awards in Harare on Wednesday, Parirenyatwa said many doctors had lost patients as a result of not being able to afford the blood products.

“To the surgeon, blood products are key and many times doctors have had to cancel patients for theatre because of failure to secure blood, which most times is a prerequisite for the anaesthetists to put patients to sleep,” he said.

“However, for disciplines such as gynaecology and obstetrics, it has been made easier due to donors who have chipped in to prevent maternity mortality through provision of blood products funding.”

Parirenyatwa said in 2016, the blood user fees were reduced from $135 a unit to $100 for government hospitals and from $160 to $120 for the private hospitals, which was a huge improvement.

“We are hoping this cost will continue to come down,” he said.

However, Community Working Group on Health executive director Itai Rusike said the reduction of blood user fees would only happen if the government supported National Blood Services Zimbabwe by investing in cost-effective technologies for screening blood.

Meanwhile, scores of people thronged the city centre to mark World Blood Day.

In interviews with NewsDay, many of the donors, mostly the youth, said they were inspired by the need to help save lives as well as to play a part in humanity.

“I like helping the community in any way possible. It is my first time to donate blood and I feel important knowing that I have given blood to save a life,” a Glen View High 1 student said.

On Wednesday, during the question-and-answer session in the National Assembly, Goromonzi West MP Beatrice Nyamupinga (Zanu PF) raised the issue of availability and affordability of blood for all regardless of financial background.

Nyamupinga was referring to the recent King Lion Nyamakate bus disaster that claimed 43 lives and left several others injured.