Blood Bank: NBSC Condemns Shortage
On Thursday, Dr. Omale Amedu, the Acting Director-General of the National Blood Service Commission (NBSC), bemoaned the great deficit in Nigeria’s blood bank.
Dr. Amedu had said this during the commencement of a nationwide sensitization programme on NBSC mandate in Abuja. He stated that the Nigeria blood bank has a very great deficit and would not be able to properly cater to the needs of the, over 200 million, population. According to him, Nigeria’s large population required for there to be an availability of safe blood and blood products for emergency use.
“There is a great deficit in blood bank that we have currently. Having a population of over 200 million Nigerians, we are expected to have a minimum of two million safe blood units per annum, but as I speak to you we have only about 25,000 safe blood units in our record. So we really need Nigerians to volunteer blood freely because you never can tell, who needs blood, we need to be prepared.”
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Dr. Amedu also said that frequent blood donation helps revitalise the body system, improve the donor’s health status because of the clinical check-up, and save lives. He explained that the flag-off of the sensitization programme on NBSC mandate was to further ensure the regulation, coordination, and provision of safe, quality blood and blood products nationwide.
“Our target is to increase blood units collected from voluntary non-remunerated donors and sensitize Nigerians on the one million Safe Blood Units Initiative (OMSBUI). Such that blood units collected will increase from 25,000 to one million by 2023 and three million by 2030.”
Dr. Adeze Oreh, the Head of Planning, Research, and Statistics, NBSC, also stated the expected outcome of the sensitisation exercise would help achieve Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Dr. Oreh said that it would also enhance the citizens’ access to safe blood, and gain a better perspective on the role of multi-sector stakeholders in strengthening the blood transfusion value chain.
The Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, also said that there was a need for more sensitization and mobilization of citizens for them to embrace blood donation as a responsibility of all. In his own words, blood donations saves lives.
Dr. Ehanire, who was being represented by Dr. Chris Isokonwe, the Senior Special Technical Assistant in the ministry, also called upon stakeholders to ensure that there is a safe, quality provision of necessary blood and products for the good of all in Nigeria.
