Oyugi Omondi Brian

Blood transfusion and donation story.

Published September 26, 2016 | By Oyugi Omondi Brian

I am a young man,29 years old living with sickle cell anemia.I live in Nairobi City the Kenya’s capital but was born in Homa Bay County Nyanza province in Western Kenya. Western Kenya and the Coastal areas of the Indian Ocean are leading with highest prevalence of sickle cell disease and sickle cell trait in the whole country.
I was diagnosed at the age of 2 years, since then I have undergone several blood transfusions. Just to narrate a certain incidence that I clearly remember, I was once in much pain for a week and despite being given all the pain meds, the pain wasn’t going anywhere, I found myself yelling at my Doctor “kindly chop off my legs and arms in order to relieve me from the pain, or just inject me a sleeping drug so that I will not wake up again”. The doctor tried to talk to me about the effects of what I was requesting. The doctor tested for my hb and it was 5 after some hours I was transfused and I could not believe the pain was gone! I received 4 pints of blood during that stay in the hospital. I was discharged from the hospital, the hb had now risen to 9 and continued with my normal duties.
Recently a warrior and a stranger to me was in need of blood because his face was swollen and in much pain. I convinced my brother and donated blood to him. I thank God after two days, he was okay and discharged from the hospital. Since then to date we are strong friends with the warrior.
Blood transfusion and donation has brought happiness and the spirit of living positively with sickle cell disease not only to me but also to others like me. It has really changed many lives. I therefore kindly appeal to the public to make a routine of donating blood since it’s needed by many people like me. “Donate blood and save life” my happiness and satisfaction is when all live free of pain. Till my journey ends, I will live to advocate for blood donation for transfusion.

Key Entry Rules

  1. You must be someone with Sickle Cell Disease or have some strong connection with SCD through kinship, friendship or caring responsibility.
  2. Your story – which must be true and should include some aspect of the importance of blood in the narrative – must be between 200–2,000 words.
  3. We expect most entries to come from Africa, but where you live is less important than the story you have to share.
  4. Stories must be submitted by the contest deadline of 30 September 2016.
  5. Photographs and other media can be included and are very much encouraged.
  6. First, second and third place winners will be awarded a monetary prize of $500/$350/$250 respectively. There will also be two special $125 prizes for standout young contestant (under 16) and standout health care professional, if not represented among the overall winners.

Story Criteria

Contest Rules

Past Winners