Mapping the blood transfusion supply in the west region of Cameroon: A cross-sectional study

Blood transfusion is one of the priorities of a health system. However, this topic is poorly documented in under developing countries.

Describe the supply of blood transfusion in the West Region of Cameroon.

This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in health facilities that handles blood transfusion in the West Region of Cameroon from March to May 2022. Data were collected using an observational grid and a questionnaire administered face-to-face to the health personnel involved in blood transfusion to collect informations on blood transfusion practices. These data were analysed using SPSS 20 software for proportions and ArcGIS 10.3.1 for blood transfusion maps.

90/877 health facilities of the West Region supplied blood transfusion. Each of the 20 health districts had at least one health facility supplying blood transfusion service. Among the 90 health facilities supplying blood transfusion service, 86 (95.5%) consented to participate in the study. A mean of 4.5 health facilities carried out blood transfusion per health district with 3.8 health facilities per 100,000 occupants. Of the 90 health facilities, 14 (16.3%) had a blood bank, with 03 (21.4%) being non-functional, for a mean of 0.4 blood bank for 10,000 occupants. A total of 18 health facilities supplying blood transfusion were found around a radius of 5 km from a functional blood bank. Among the 86 health facilities, 12 (13.8%) had a blood conservation room; the main source of blood for transfusion was family donors 62 (72%); the type of blood product most frequently administered was whole blood 82 (96.5%); 3 (3.4%) had a plasma extractor/manual separator; 19 (22.1%) performed the ELISA chain, and the Cross match was performed in 57 (66.3%) health facilities.

The results of the study reveal limited geographic access of populations to health facilities supply blood transfusion and to blood banks in the West Region of Cameroon.