UH3HL151595

Pathways for Innovation in Blood Transfusion Systems in Kenya (PITS Kenya) - Project Summary/Abstract

There is a critical shortage of blood that affects many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Blood collection rates in these regions are ten-fold lower than rates in high-income countries. According to the Kenya National Blood Transfusion Service (KNBTS), the country's healthcare system requires nearly 500,000 units of blood per year. Last year, collections reached just 30% of this mark. Unfortunately, the blood transfusion processes span a continuum from blood donation to safe delivery that is complex, expensive, and prone to failure. The consequences are devastating; postpartum hemorrhage, malarial anemia, sickle cell disease, and all other forms of acute hemorrhage claim millions of lives each year. Thus, optimizing blood transfusion services in LMICs represents both a major health challenge and a social imperative.

The overarching goal of this project is to identify, develop, and test effective strategies to enhance the availability and delivery of safe blood for transfusion in Kenya. A research consortium led by Strathmore University and the Center for Public Health and Development (CPHD) in Nairobi has partnered with the University of Pittsburgh with the objective of defining and characterizing the blood transfusion system in Kenya in order to provide evidence for the effective implementation of a diverse set of interventions aimed at enhancing and streamlining the safe delivery of blood in both urban and rural Kenya.

Our research team has designed a multidimensional three-by-three-by-three approach that consists of three clinical pathways determining the urgency of blood transfusions; three distinct socioeconomic contexts within Kenya that best represent both urban and rural settings; and three basic components of effective blood transfusion systems (availability, processing, and safe delivery). Our specific aims are:

1. Evaluate ground-level deficits in the continuum of banked blood transfusion — specifically availability, processing, and delivery — across three distinct socioeconomic contexts in Kenya (Nakuru, Siaya/Kisumu, and Turkana counties), and within three specific clinical contexts (emergent, urgent, planned).
2. Evaluate ground-level and consensus solutions to optimize the continuum of banked blood transfusion.
3. Identify disruptive technologies for the implementation of safe and reliable blood transfusion strategies, including innovative supply-chain solutions and crowd-sourcing through social media and mobile technologies.

This work will elucidate barriers to safe blood access and quantify the impacts of unavailable blood in each clinical situation. During the UH3 phase of the project, we aim to implement innovative, contextually appropriate, stakeholder-backed interventions to address deficits across the blood continuum, ultimately optimizing blood donation, collection, testing, and timely availability so that blood is given to the right patient at the right time and location, ensuring the highest quality of blood transfusion services in low resource areas.

Strathmore University

THE DIVISION OF BLOOD DISEASES AND RESOURCES SUPPORTS RESEARCH AND RESEARCH TRAINING ON THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGY, DIAGNOSIS, TREATMENT, AND PREVENTION OF NON-MALIGNANT BLOOD DISEASES, INCLUDING ANEMIAS, SICKLE CELL DISEASE, THALASSEMIA, LEUKOCYTE BIOLOGY, PRE-MALIGNANT PROCESSES SUCH AS MYELODYSPLASIA AND MYELOPROLIFERATIVE DISORDERS, HEMOPHILIA AND OTHER ABNORMALITIES OF HEMOSTASIS AND THROMBOSIS, AND IMMUNE DYSFUNCTION. FUNDING ENCOMPASSES A BROAD SPECTRUM OF HEMATOLOGIC INQUIRY, RANGING FROM STEM CELL BIOLOGY TO MEDICAL MANAGEMENT OF BLOOD DISEASES AND TO ASSURING THE ADEQUACY AND SAFETY OF THE NATION'S BLOOD SUPPLY. PROGRAMS ALSO SUPPORT THE DEVELOPMENT OF NOVEL CELL-BASED THERAPIES TO BRING THE EXPERTISE OF TRANSFUSION MEDICINE AND STEM CELL TECHNOLOGY TO THE REPAIR AND REGENERATION OF HUMAN TISSUES AND ORGANS. SMALL BUSINESS INNOVATION RESEARCH (SBIR) PROGRAM: TO STIMULATE TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION, USE SMALL BUSINESS TO MEET FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT NEEDS, FOSTER AND ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION IN INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP BY SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED PERSONS, AND INCREASE PRIVATE-SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT FUNDING. SMALL BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER (STTR) PROGRAM: TO STIMULATE TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION, FOSTER TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER THROUGH COOPERATIVE R&D BETWEEN SMALL BUSINESSES AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, AND INCREASE PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIALIZATION OF INNOVATIONS DERIVED FROM FEDERAL R&D.

93.837 - Cardiovascular Diseases Research

National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) [HHS - NIH]

Kenya

Foreign

BLOODSAFE: Research to enhance availability of safe blood for patients with severe anemia and hemorrhagic conditions in low or lower-middle income countries (LLMICs) in Sub-Saharan Africa (UG3/UH3 Clinical Trial Optional) (RFA-HL-20-009)

Amendment Since initial award the total obligations have increased 285% from $711,841 to $2,742,722.