The American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) is set to accredit the National Centre for Blood Transfusion (NCBT) for its commitment to apply international standards in its operations.The acting Director General of NCBT, Dr Swaibu Katare, Tuesday confirmed the development, saying it would help it become a centre of excellence.“We have consultants from various countries, including Kenya and Botswana, who are assessing the measures put in place to ensure that we give out high quality blood.”He added that the centre came up with various mechanisms to ensure that blood collected and distributed to hospitals from the blood bank is uncontaminated.“We have the latest lab machines that have enabled us take effective steps against collection and distribution of unsafe blood” Katare said.He pointed out that the centre is now capable of detecting the HIV virus in the donated blood if a donor had acquired the virus 16 to 18 days before.“We have ensured that we attain the required standard measures considering the whole process from blood collection points to distribution”. He observed that blood is not risk free hence the execution of strict measures in voluntary non-remunerated donation. Through this method, people are encouraged to donate blood without expecting anything in return.“We have a strict donor selection process that also involves a questionnaire to provide more information on the donors’ health records. If anything wrong is detected even before donating, such a person must take a period six months before donating blood.”To enable easy blood collection, NCBT has opened five blood transfusion centres at various locations including Kigali, Musanze, Rwamagana, Butare and Karongi.According to records from NCBT, there was a decrease in the quantity of blood collected last year compared to 2010. Last year, the centre collected 37,811 units of blood and distributed 35,118 yet in 2010, 41,000 units were collected.
