No more money for blood

HEALTH Minister Terrence Deyalsingh says the chit, credit and transitional credit system of blood distribution and collection is inequitable and dangerous, and people are forced to pay for blood donations.

He was speaking during debate on the 2018/2019 national budget in the House of Representatives yesterday.

He said the system does not work for the poor and the disadvantaged.

He reported about 21,483 units of blood were collected in 2017 and explained that chits can be given from the donor to the recipient.

“Where’s the equity in that? What about the person who doesn’t have a donor? The person who doesn’t have family? “You know what they have to do very often? Go and pay somebody to give blood. And we know that. It has been going on for years.

“Blood is a product that is not to be bought and sold, not to be bartered.”

He said this country will be moved to a 100 per cent voluntary altruistic system of blood donation, which will eliminate the need for people to go to risky donors, including those with HIV and hepatitis. Deyalsingh added that emergency blood supplies are needed for ten women daily in cases of post-partum haemorrhage and to assist with decreasing infant mortality rates.

He said the major intervention in the system for 2019 has already started and the Pan American Health Organisation has been invited to provide technical assistance.

He asked Barataria/San Juan MP Dr Fuad Khan and Fyzabad MP Dr Lackram Bodoe to ask their political leader to allow them to engage Government on this matter of national importance.

He reported the access to blood banking will be increased and at the North Central Regional Health Authority and South West Regional Health Authority, the blood bank will be open on Saturdays from 7am-3pm and in the Eastern Regional Health Authority from 8am-12pm. Later on this month, the blood bank in Port of Spain will be open from 7am-3pm as well on Saturdays.

This, he said, was “so people don’t have to take time off from work. It is more customer-focused.”

Deyalsingh said the Chronic Disease Assistance Programme (CDAP) had been giving citizens a lot of trouble for years. He said $35 million worth of CDAP drugs was dispersed annually but the administrative cost was $46 million, with $35 million going towards dispensing fees to pharmacies. Deyalsingh said the previous administration increased the dispensing fee from $8 per item to $13 and this Government had reversed this. He said Government also increased deliveries of drugs to pharmacies from every two months to every month.

Another issue was artificial drug shortages, in which pharmacies did not dispense drugs because there was no pharmacist on duty. He said a pharmacist was supposed to be on duty from the time the pharmacy opened to when it closed. Deyalsingh reported he gave a directive to monitors, and 13 warning letters were issued between February and September.