New blood technology to save more lives
This news about an advance
regarding loss of blood is one that will surely gladden many hearts.
For a long time now, many victims
of accidents, gunshots and so on have died from internal bleeding.
But now, Hemafuse, a surgical
autotransfusion device, is set to revolutionize blood access across Africa as
it’s designed to salvage and recycle whole blood from cases of internal
bleeding. The device can be used in both emergencies and scheduled procedures
to recover blood from where it pools inside of a patient into a blood bag where
it’s immediately available to be re-transfused back to that same patient.
Wow!
Created for patients suffering
from internal bleeding resulting from trauma, ruptured ectopic pregnancies, or
for use in planned surgeries, hemafuse can be used in cases where there is no
donor blood available, and even as the preferred option over donor blood.
When compared to autotransfusion,
the use of donor blood comes with a higher risk of disease transfer, increased
length of stay, readmissions and other complications.
Hemafuse is now used in 10
different hospitals across Kenya.
Last month, it received an
endorsement from First Lady Margaret Kenyatta at the launch of the Nairobi
Beyond Zero Medical Safari as her Beyond Zero Kenya initiative donated Hemafuse
to Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital to aid in the reduction of maternal deaths.
During the event, Dr. Elizabeth
Wala, Programme Director for Health Systems Strengthening at Amref Health
Africa in Kenya, spoke about the importance of using the high quality device to
save lives. She announced that the Kenya Pharmacy and Poison Board have
approved Hemafuse. “Blood is a matter of life and death, the impact of this
device is saving lives that could have been lost due to lack of blood.
Achieving [universal health coverage] requires innovations for essential
medicines and health technologies that save lives. Hemafuse should be part of
the essential medical devices in each hospital.”
Use of the device is also now
being rolled out in Ghana, where it has already been used to save lives in
cases of ruptured ectopic pregnancy. Dr. Gerald Osei-Owusu, a medical officer
at Tema General, has used it in several different surgeries.
After experiencing Hemafuse firsthand,
he says the device cuts down on cost, the time it takes to save the patient and
the time they recover. “It’s a good device. I think it’s something we should
use nationally and continentally. It makes life easier, work easier and costs
less. I think it’s a good device.”
Using Hemafuse to recycle a
patient’s own blood saves the donor blood that is available for other patients
who are not candidates for autotransfusion. Dr. Rafia Abanga, another medical officer
at Tema General, has also experienced it firsthand. “The Hemafuse is a great
device, I’ve used it only twice, it was much needed and helped save a young
lady’s life. I’m grateful to the person who invented this,” she said.
Autotransfusion reduces the risk
of infection and disease transmission because using a patient’s own blood is
safer than someone else’s. Dorothy Kesewah Denkyi, a theatre nurse at Tema
General, explains her experience using Hemafuse and implementing
autotransfusion. “Autotransfusion is the best...It’s better than giving someone
[else’s] blood to the patient. So we are encouraging autotransfusion if that is
what will help out. Now that Hemafuse is here [in Ghana], we are advocating to
get more in the system. Every theatre should have one, if not one, two."
Hemafuse is now available in
Kenya and Ghana, and will be coming to hospitals across Africa. In Kenya, it’s
sold through Surgipharm and in partnership with Amref. All other locations
should reach out to Sisu’s global partner, VIA Global Health: www.viaglobalhealth.com/product/hemafuse
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