At 10th Extraordinary Session: Blood transfusion service reviews additional budget to tackle nationwide shortages.

It held at the NBTS head office in Yaounde Tuesday. 

The President of the Management Committee, Prof Tetanye Ekoe, chaired the session. The review follows the allocation of additional resources to the NBTS by the government through the Ministries of finance, that of the economy, and public health. 

Prof Ekoe said the supplementary budget was an important financial instrument through which the institution could adjust its initial allocations to changing operational needs.

He said it would allow the NBTS to reallocate funds and cover activities that were not included when the initial budget was prepared.

According to Prof Ekoe, the institution’s blood collection, screening, distribution and transfusion safety activities require resources whose availability and level may change during the financial year. 

He cited expanded blood donation campaigns, the unexpected acquisition of reagents, urgent maintenance of screening equipment, the deployment of information systems and the introduction of new activities as areas that may require budgetary adjustments.

Prof Ekoe said the committee’s examination of the revised budget would be guided by three main requirements, notably accuracy, regulatory compliance and consistency. He explained that the proposed adjustments must be based on real and documented needs.

According to Prof Ekoe, the initial budget submitted for revision stood at FCFA 1.478 billion. He added that the final figures would be established after members of the Management Committee had examined the additional resources and proposed adjustments.

“Our priorities include making blood collection as productive as possible and convincing the population of the need to donate blood. We must also ensure that we can provide quality blood and improve the supervision of blood banks,” Prof Ekoe told reporters.

Enter NBTS Director General

The Director General of the National Blood Transfusion Service, Prof Dora Mbanya, said the institution requires both financial resources and greater public participation to address the country’s blood shortage.

She said Cameroon needs about 400,000 pints of blood annually. By the end of 2025, however, the NBTS had collected 187,000 pints, only about 47% of estimated national demand.

Prof Mbanya said the figures indicate an annual deficit of about 213,000 pints, leaving approximately 53% of the country’s blood requirements unmet. 

According to the Director General, pregnant women suffering from severe bleeding, children with anaemia and patients with other conditions requiring transfusion are among those most affected when blood is unavailable.

She explained that the shortage had pushed the institution to develop strategies for improving collection. The implementation of these measures, she added, was closely linked to the availability of funding. 

Prof Mbanya said the additional government subsidy will therefore be channelled into different stages of the blood transfusion safety chain, from mobilising donors and collecting blood to screening, processing and supplying qualified blood products to patients.

The Director General further maintained that infrastructure, equipment and screening materials could only be used effectively if people volunteered to donate blood.

“The most important thing is for donors to come forward because the transfusion safety chain begins with the donor and ends with the person receiving qualified blood,” Prof Mbanya said.

She added that several procedures are carried out between donation and transfusion, with each stage requiring adequate resources to ensure that blood supplied to patients is safe and of the required quality.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3911 of Wednesday September 16, 2026