Ten percent of Ugandans who urgently need blood fail to receive it because of supply shortages, officials from the Uganda Blood Transfusion Services (UBTS) have said.
UBTS Executive Director Dr Dorothy Kyeyune Byabazaire told reporters on June 12 that the country still lacks enough donors and financing to meet national blood demand.
“According to the World Health Organisation standards, a country is supposed to collect units of blood equivalent to one percent of its population, and here, since we are around 50 million Ugandans, we must collect 500,000 units of blood. Last year, we collected 439,000 units, which is below the standard. We also managed to meet 90 percent of the blood demand,” she said.
Uganda Falls Short of Blood Collection Target
Uganda requires an estimated 400,000 to 460,000 units of blood every year. Hospitals need about 1,000 to 1,200 units daily.
UBTS statistics show that blood collection has improved over the past three years. The country collected 313,659 units in 2023, 350,000 units in 2024, and 439,000 units in 2025.
However, Dr Byabazaire said the current collection levels remain below the World Health Organisation benchmark.
She added that Uganda would face less pressure on blood supplies if preventable conditions driving demand were reduced through stronger primary health care.
According to Dr Byabazaire, children with severe anemia consume 60 percent of the blood collected. They are followed by mothers facing postpartum complications, accident victims, and patients with terminal illnesses such as cancer.
“Diseases like malaria, which result in severe anemia among children, can be prevented; good antenatal care can prevent postnatal complications; if we have proper road safety mechanisms, road crashes will also reduce, and the blood will only be needed by a few people like cancer patients, among others,” she said.
Malaria, Sickle Cell Disease and Malnutrition Drive Demand
Health experts link severe anemia to malaria, sickle cell disease, and malnutrition. These conditions continue to place heavy pressure on Uganda’s blood supply.
The 2024 World Health Organisation Malaria Report classified Uganda as a high-burden malaria country. It indicated that the entire population remains at risk of infection.
The report showed that 12.6 million Ugandans had been diagnosed with malaria. It also recorded at least 16,000 deaths, with children accounting for 75 percent of the fatalities.
Ministry of Health statistics show that Uganda records an estimated 20,000 new sickle cell cases every year. Between 70 and 80 percent of affected children die early, especially before the age of five.
Malaria accounts for about 25 percent of deaths among children with sickle cell disease.
A 2025 UNICEF report also showed that an estimated 268,000 children in Uganda suffered from severe malnutrition, also known as wasting, in 2024.
Road Crashes and Maternal Risks Add Pressure
Road crashes have also increased demand for blood in hospitals.
Uganda recorded 26,044 road crashes in 2025, up from 25,107 in 2024, according to the Annual Crime Report launched in March 2026.
The report showed that road crash fatalities stood at 5,144. Officials said many crash victims rushed to hospitals required blood.
Postnatal complications are another major driver of blood demand. These include hemorrhage, infection, also known as sepsis, and major depression.
Uganda’s maternal mortality ratio stands at roughly 189 deaths per 100,000 live births. About 60 percent to 70 percent of maternal deaths occur in the postpartum period.
Ms Charlotte Kainerugaba, Uganda’s Postpartum Hemorrhage Champion, said timely access to safe blood is critical for mothers experiencing postpartum hemorrhage. She said it can determine whether a mother survives childbirth.
UBTS Says One Unit Costs at Least $100 to Handle
Dr Byabazaire said UBTS needs at least $100, about Shs380,000, to handle one unit of blood from donor to patient.
“Collecting blood requires items such as vacuum tubes, soda to give donors, employees, vehicles, among others. After that, blood needs to undergo testing where we need reagents, then it comes to storage and distribution. So when we sum it up, we need at least $100 to do all of it,” she said.
New Alinity Machine Boosts Blood Testing
Dr Byabazaire said the government continues to work with private partners to improve blood collection, testing, and storage.
Under a Public-Private Partnership arrangement, Star Pharmaceuticals Ltd, working with Abbott Diagnostics, supplied UBTS with a new Alinity high-tech machine.
Scientists at the Uganda Blood Transfusion Services are using the machine to improve blood screening.
According to Mr Ani Prajith, the Chief Executive Officer of Star Pharmaceuticals Ltd, the machine automatically screens large volumes of blood for infectious diseases. These include HIV, Hepatitis B, and syphilis.
He said the machine will improve blood safety and speed up testing.
“Alinity machines have full automation, which means that you can load the samples and get more output with minimal human intervention. With the new machine, we can process more samples in a limited time, which means that whenever there is a high load, the output can be faster,” he said.
Dr Steven Ssenyonga, a medical officer and research officer at UBTS, said the new machine can test between 800 and 1,000 samples in one day.
“We have realised that blood from educational institutions is safer, with limited cases of diseases compared to communities. Between 8am and 5pm, we can test between 800 and 1,000 samples because this machine can load reagents automatically, the sensitivity is much higher, so there is a real-time turnaround solution,” he said.
