Government seeks real-time blood tracking system to address hospital shortages

NAIROBI,Kenya Nov 14 – Kenya is pushing for a nationwide digital blood tracking system that would enable hospitals to monitor blood supplies in real time, anticipate shortages and coordinate transfers between facilities to ensure patients receive timely treatment during emergencies.

The proposed system would connect hospitals, blood banks and laboratories, allowing healthcare workers to establish where specific blood groups and components are available without relying on time-consuming manual inquiries.

The proposal emerged on Friday during the Terumo BCT Africa Hackathon 2026 at Strathmore University in Nairobi, where young innovators from Kenya and Nigeria showcased technology-driven solutions to improve blood collection, storage and distribution across the continent.

Digital Health Agency (DHA) Director of Digital Health and Informatics Dr Jeremiah Mumo said the absence of a connected information system was hampering the ability of hospitals to respond to urgent blood requests, even in situations where the required supplies were available at other facilities.

“One of our greatest opportunities today is to establish a real-time visibility of blood availability across the country. A system whereby we can be able to reach any blood bank to check the available blood groups and components with a click of a button,” he said.

Mumo said the proposed platform should give authorised healthcare professionals access to reliable information on available blood stocks across the country, enabling hospitals to identify suitable supplies and arrange transfers more efficiently.

He also called for the integration of artificial intelligence and data analytics to predict shortages by blood group and location, allowing health authorities to identify areas facing potential deficits and plan collections accordingly.

The system, he said, should also strengthen voluntary blood donation by maintaining a database of eligible donors, including their blood groups and locations, and enabling blood banks to notify them when their donations are urgently needed.

Mumo further proposed a comprehensive tracking mechanism that would follow every unit of blood from donation to transfusion, documenting laboratory testing, compatibility checks, storage and transportation.

“Every blood unit must have a traceable journey from the donor to the patient,” he said.

He said such a system would strengthen accountability, improve patient safety and provide health authorities with reliable data to guide decisions on blood collection and distribution.

The DHA director cautioned developers against creating isolated digital platforms, urging them to ensure their innovations can integrate with Kenya’s existing national digital health infrastructure.

“Our philosophy should be simple. Build once, integrate appropriately and avoid creating digital silos,” he said.

He also emphasised the need to safeguard sensitive donor and patient information in compliance with the Data Protection Act, 2019, and the Digital Health Act, 2023.

Mumo challenged the innovators to prioritise practical solutions that can be deployed across the country’s healthcare facilities, including hospitals in remote areas where internet connectivity remains unreliable.

“We are not necessarily looking for the most sophisticated technology. We are looking for technology that solves the most important problems,” he said.

The hackathon culminated in the selection of Team Relay, comprising Kenyan and Nigerian innovators, as the overall winner of the USD 5,000 prize for developing HemoGrid, a digital platform designed to help hospitals and blood banks identify suitable blood stocks and coordinate transfers during emergencies.

Kenyan team Medibora emerged second with Providus, a forecasting tool designed to help blood services anticipate shortages based on blood group and geographical location. The platform can be accessed through a dashboard as well as basic mobile phones using Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) and SMS.

Five finalist teams presented working prototypes addressing challenges in blood management under the theme Building Better Blood Systems for Africa.

The competition focused on developing solutions that could contribute to the proposed African Blood Bank Information System, an initiative intended to connect blood centres, hospitals, laboratories and healthcare workers through shared digital information.

Organisers said the prototypes could inform future developments in blood management, although their adoption and further development would be subject to separate reviews and agreements with the participating teams.

Meanwhile, Principal Secretary for Youth Affairs and Creative Economy Fikirini Jacobs Kahindi urged young innovators to develop solutions that can move beyond demonstration projects and become commercially viable products capable of addressing real-world challenges.

In a speech delivered on his behalf by Deputy Director Timothy Nyakwamba Kajwang, the PS said innovation would only make a meaningful difference if the technologies developed were adopted and put to practical use.

“However, great code cannot save lives if it stays trapped in a prototype,” he said.

Kahindi said the government was seeking to support young entrepreneurs through financing, business development opportunities and partnerships that would help them commercialise their innovations.

He cited the Youth Enterprise Development Fund, the Hustler Fund and partnerships with the Kenya National Innovation Agency as some of the avenues through which young innovators could access financial and technical support.

The PS also urged participants to protect their intellectual property and formalise their projects into registered businesses capable of attracting investment.

“Do not let your project end when the livestream closes today. Formalise your teams into registered enterprises,” he said.

The push for improved blood management comes amid the critical need for reliable supplies in hospitals, where blood is required for accident victims, mothers experiencing childbirth complications, surgical patients and people living with conditions such as sickle cell disease.

The importance of emergency blood supplies was highlighted in August 2025, when Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital in Kisumu organised an emergency blood donation drive following a road crash that left several people dead and others injured.

The hackathon also highlighted the need for digital solutions that can function in facilities with limited internet connectivity, while ensuring that healthcare workers have access to accurate and updated information when making decisions about patient care.

Mumo said the ultimate test of the innovations would be their ability to move from prototypes to systems that can be tested, integrated and adopted within healthcare institutions.

“Let us also recognise that innovation must not end with a hackathon,” he said.

He said the success of digital blood management would ultimately depend on whether hospitals could identify available supplies, coordinate their movement and ensure safe delivery to patients when needed.