DEVELOP VOLUNTARY BLOOD DONATION TO SAVE LIVES — MEDICAL EXPERTS BEG NIGERIANS
REPORTER: ONYINYE CHIJIOBI
Medical experts want healthy Nigerians to cultivate the habit of voluntary blood donation to save the lives of the sick and accident victims in dire need of blood.
They also stressed the need for government at all levels to build a sustainable and resilient national blood bank system and increase collection from voluntary non-remunerated blood donors.
The experts, who made their views known while commenting on the 2022 World Blood Donor Day,
said such a habit would go a long way in saving lives.
World Blood Donor Day is usually celebrated on June 14 every year to sensitise people to the importance of having safe blood and blood products in the bank to assist health institutions save lives and appreciate blood donors for their life-saving decision.
However, in many countries line Nigeria, blood services face the challenge of making sufficient blood available, while also ensuring its quality and safety.
This has compelled health institutions to depend on patients’ relatives as donors or pay people to donate blood for patients.
Speaking on the significance of the day, the Chief Medical Director, Chukwuemeka Odumeje Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital, Amaku, Awka, Anambra State, Dr. Joe Akabuike, explained that blood could help patients suffering from life-threatening conditions live longer and with a higher quality of life just as it also supports complex medical and surgical procedures.
For the Executive Secretary Nigeria Red Cross Society, Anambra State, Mr. Kingsley Okoye, the need for advocacy on voluntary blood donation could not be over-emphasized.
He explained that blood from a paid donor could not always be trusted due to people’s lifestyles.
The Executive Secretary Anambra State Primary Health Development Agency, Dr. Chioma Ezenyimulu, said perception of blood donation varies across the different geo-political zones in Nigeria.
Dr. Ezenyimulu stressed the need for massive public enlightenment to diffuse the minds of Nigerians who feared that the blood donated was being sold to occultists for ritual purposes.
A voluntary blood donor, who pleaded anonymity, pointed out that blood donation was of mutual benefit to the donor and the patient who eventually used it.
For his part, a laboratory scientist, Mr. Emeka Eboh, said just one pint of blood saves life and that sometimes in life every woman might need blood once in their lifetime, especially during child birth.
Others, who lent their voices, maintained that having a blood service that would give patients access to safe blood and blood products in sufficient quantity was a key component of an effective health system.
The slogan for the Day, “Donating blood is an act of solidarity. Join the effort and save lives,” draws attention to the significance of voluntary blood donations in saving lives and enhancing solidarity within communities and the world at large.
