Being a pregnant woman is a thing of joy, but it’s quite unfortunate that some women die in labor due to excess bleeding and inadequate supply of safe blood and blood products for transfusion in Nigeria. With the height of healthcare delivery in the country, a lot of blood and blood transfusion are in high demand in most of our hospitals to save thousands of live across Nigeria, as about 1.5 million unit of blood is needed yearly, and the future of Nigeria lies in the belly of women.
From the national data survey carried out on blood transfusion it was shown that the population of blood donor was up to 25 percent to replacement donors and voluntary unpaid donors were small.
From the national blood policy in the country, it’s stated that, donation of blood should be based on fundamental norms of either people volunteering, getting paid or regular, this policy also indicates that financial reward to blood donors shall be prohibited, while a token of appreciation shall be given to donors such as: refund of transport fare, certificates and badges.
WHO advises that, national blood policy in most countries should focus on the availability and safety of blood products and blood, as they are very important, to avoiding transmission of hepatitis, virus, HIV and blood pathogens in the health care systems.
Now, my questions are, should the blood acquired from donors be sold to patients? Should blood recipients pay for the cost of the tests being carried out before being given out?
for real, there is the need for more advocacy on voluntary donation of blood, because blood is being donated voluntarily in the western world, so we should imbibe that culture in Nigeria, because one of the ways of being your brother keepers is by donating blood voluntarily. and besides, blood donation have numerous health benefits
A CALL FOR ACTION : State government should help set up more system/agency /technology(redbank) to drive or generate blood into the blood bank to save more lives. Kindly share this article to create awareness.
