Pilirani Chaguza was shocked at the number of pregnant women dying due to blood loss at Salima District Hospital. During a District Executive Meeting (DEC) a hospital representative reported that 26 women had died due to bleeding between 2008 and 2009. Having experienced the trauma of almost losing a sister during childbirth, Pilirani Chaguza made it a personal point to change the situation. He started a donor group and has since mobilised 60 people.Not satisfied, he is now thinking of going national.
The first blood donation
Pilirani Chaguza first donated blood in 1995 while at Ntchisi Secondary School. A female teacher from a neighbouring school was admitted to the District Hospital and urgently needed a blood transfusion to survive.Hospital authorities asked school administrators to organise students to donate blood. Out of over 300 students approached , only three showed up and Chaguza was one of them.
I walked into the hospital not knowing what was really going to happen. We were counselled and I was asked to lie on the bed” he recalls, “a red substance gushed into a small tube joining the needle to a half litre plastic bag placed on a small table beside the clinic bed. In less than 10 minutes it was done.I was filled with so much joy knowing that I had saved a life.
While he holds that day to heart, the defining moment for his zeal to become a life time blood donor came two years later in 1997. His sister Rose went into a coma after losing a lot of blood giving birth to twins.Chaguza felt duty bound to save his sister’s life and that of his nephews. In no time, after the blood transfusion, Rose was back to life and nursing her twins.It was then that Chaguza made a life time commitment to become a blood donor.
The Idea...
In 2000, Chaguza secured a job with the National Initiative for Civic Education (Nice) and relocated to Salima. As fate would have it, at the district hospital he ran into the laboratory technician that first bled him.
The two became pals.One Sunday afternoon in 2008, Chaguza’s phone rang. His services were needed at the hospital. A woman giving birth that afternoon needed blood. Unfortunately, Chaguza was unfit as it had only been two months since his prior donation.
The voice on the other end asked if he knew anyone else that could make a donation. Chaguza knew no one, but deep within him knew it was time to find someone. The idea of forming a blood donors group was formed. The Salima District Health Officer (DHO) advised him to take the idea to Malawi Blood Transfusion Services because it is the only institution mandated to bleed in the country.Unfortunately, Chaguza knew very little of MBTS at that moment - and so the idea was shelved.
DEC Meeting
Chaguza’s job with Nice allowed him to sit in on District Executive Committee meetings - high level stakeholder district meetings with the District Council where district decisions are made and reviewed.
During one, in April 2010, a hospital representative made a presentation and reported that the hospital was facing acute blood shortage resulting in the deaths of many pregnant women. The presentation stated that in the last two years, Salima District Hospital had 26 maternal deaths due to loss of blood during or after giving birth. In all cases, there was either insufficient or no blood to save the women.
In his personal capacity, Chaguza seized the moment and introduced his idea of a blood donor group to the meeting. The idea was met with high enthusiasm. In May 2010, Salima Blood Donor Group was born.
How it operates
Determined and motivated, Chaguza went door to door sensitizing individuals. His visits had a ripple effect, and the group quickly grew to sixty members. The hospital provided transport for the donors and provided support in the best way they could.Between its inception and June 2011 the group donated 102 pints of blood - 66 of which were donated to Salima Hospital, and the balance to MBTS.Today, with bleeding now only limited to MBTS, the group organises itself on days that the service visits the district.
The future
Chaguza feels waiting on MBTS to visit Salima is demotivating his members a little. So he is thinking of registering the group as a national company to gain authenticity and recognition by MBTS.He would like to go national with hopes of creating societies across Malawi. These would take full responsibility to save lives by regularly donating blood.
Who is Chaguza?
Chaguza is 37 years old and the 10th born child in a family of 13 children. He hails from Msosa Village in Traditional Authority Chakhaza area Dowa District. He is married to Setrida with two children.
Act now!
You too can can follow Chaguza's example and help save the lives of mothers and babies in Malawi.Donate blood today. Be the change!