Academy
Workshop on the prevention or reduction of bacterial contamination of blood products intended for transfusion in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Anne-Sophie Heroes
Unit of Tropical Bacteriology at the Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM) Antwerp, Belgium
Jean-Baptiste Bigubaguba Kahungui
National Blood Transfusion Centre (CNTS) in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Samclide Mbikayi Mutindu
University of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo
Paul Kabamba Muninga
National Blood Transfusion Program (PNTS), Democratic Republic of the Congo
Liliane Bwiza Vumilia Sengoma
National Blood Transfusion Centre/Program (CNTS/PNTS), Democratic Republic of the Congo
Octavie Lunguya
National Blood Transfusion Service, Tanzania
Palpouguini Lompo
Nanoro (CRUN), Nanoro, Burkina Faso.
Since 2018, the National Blood Transfusion Centre (CNTS), the National Institute for Biomedical Research (INRB) and the Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM) in Antwerp have collaborated to study bacterial contamination of blood products intended for transfusion in the Democratic Republic of Congo: prevalence, risk analysis and prevention.
We found a bacterial contamination rate of 1.4% in blood bags. The results showed that there is room for improvement in reducing bacterial contamination of blood products for transfusion in the contexts studied, by implementing affordable and technically feasible practices, accompanied by practical training for blood bank staff. It was within this framework that a 5-day training workshop (9–13 March 2026) was organised at CNTS in Kinshasa to strengthen the capacity of blood bank staff involved in blood product quality.
The specific objectives of the training were:
- To explain the importance of preventing bacterial contamination of blood products
- To investigate and identify risk factors for bacterial contamination in the participants’ blood banks
- To select and plan interventions to reduce bacterial contamination of blood products in blood banks during:
1. Medical screening of blood donors 2. Blood collection 3. The preparation and storage of blood products 4. Distribution to hospitals 5. Transfusion and haemovigilance
- To report and explain the key messages from each workshop session to the staff at the participants’ blood bank.
Photo of participants and facilitators in front of the CNTS building in Kinshasa
Participants practising hand hygiene according to the WHO procedure (Cléophas Kalala and Stéphane Mulumba)
Hand hygiene check in a UV light box
The workshop was aimed at clinical pathologists, medical biologists, nurses and laboratory technicians responsible for management (general management or quality management) and/or blood collection in a blood bank affiliated with the National Blood Transfusion Programme in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The workshop brought together 29 healthcare providers from the CNTS, CPTS (Provincial blood transfusion centres) and hospital facilities in Kinshasa, Kikwit and Kongo Central.
The five-day training course was organised as a combination of seminars using a participatory approach, practical sessions and group work. Participants were assessed via a pre-workshop test comprising multiple-choice questions and a post-workshop test containing the same questions as the pre-test. The pass mark was set at 70%. All 25 participants who took the post-test passed, compared to 45% of the 29 participants who took the pre-test.
The workshop was organized with financial support from ISBT Academy and the Belgian Directorate General Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid (DGD).
Two participants (Florence Mutala and Dénise Mulapi) carrying out preparatory calculations for the preparation of bleach solutions for disinfection.
Visit of the blood product preparation room at the CNTS (Jean-Baptiste Bigubaguba and Faila Mado)
Edmonde Bonebe demonstrates the steps of adequate maintenance cleaning of mobile handwash stations
Palpouguini Lompo demonstrates how to correctly reprocess containers used for soap and disinfectants
