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Access to transfusion therapy in Cameroon: a “real obstacle course”


Author: Geneviève Noel PIEUWEN NGUEUKAM*, Vivien MELI MELI
University of Dschang.
Published Date: 2025-05-13
Keywords: Anemia, blood crisis, transfusion therapy, blood donation, unconventional strategies for accessing care.
Abstract:
In Cameroon, as elsewhere in the world, transfusion therapy is the best and/or only therapeutic option for some people suffering from severe anemia or chronic diseases such as cancer, kidney failure, etc. However, it is observed that the blood transfusion system in Cameroon is embryonic. The lack of safe and quality blood intended for the treatment of patients is felt very acutely in health facilities. Despite this failure, populations manage to access blood therapy as best they can through their stratagems. Hence the need to make the strategies for accessing transfusion therapy in Cameroon intelligible. The methodology is based on an essentially qualitative approach. The theory of social resources and strategic analysis are mobilized to analyze the data collected using semi-structured interviews with the populations of the city of Yaoundé. Ultimately, the major result that emerges from this research is the following: Patients as agents endowed with rationality in the hospital field opt for both conventional and unconventional strategies of access to transfusion care to be treated in blood transfusion centers in Cameroon.