Research

Preamble

The National Blood Service Zimbabwe (NBSZ) has always valued, participated and performed research dating back to 1980. The research efforts by NBSZ can conveniently be put into two periods, which is the period before 2001, and the period after 2001. Before 2001, NBSZ did not have a department that was dedicated to coordinate and manage research activities. This resulted in research coming second when competing for resources with other functions of the Service. It was only in 2001 that the NBSZ introduced on its structure, the Office of Research, Development and Data Management (RDDM) till 2010. The department was re-branded in 2011 to its current name of the Planning, Information and Research (PIR) Department. Major administrative milestones which were achieved by the research department include the development of the research policy in 2001 and the establishment of research committees. The NBSZ has disseminated its research findings through presentations and publications in internationally recognised peer reviewed journals, as well as in local medical journals. It was during presentations at international conference that saw other African Countries adopting NBSZ`s research model. In 2015, the NBSZ decided to keep abreast with the technological advancement and launched a webpage which is being managed by Mr. Menard Mutenherwa (mmutenherwa@nbsz.co.zw).