Dr. Osagie Ehanire, the Minister of Health, has stated that the government will keep working to ensure the optimal use of blood in hospitals. This will help reduce the number of difficulties that may arise as a result of inefficient blood services throughout the country. Dr. Ehanire made this announcement on Monday in Ibadan during the inauguration of Centrifuge Component Blood Separation Machines and the founding of Tertiary Education Blood Safety Club, both of which were organized by the National Blood Service Commission, (NBSC) South West Zonal Centre, Ibadan.
In order to achieve a National Blood Service that is much more productive and useful, the minister, who was represented by Dr. Omale Amedu, acting director general of the NBSC, stated proper coordination and regulations are required to guarantee the quality, safety, equitable distribution, and accessibility of blood and its components across the nation when necessary. He asserts that the establishment of the Tertiary Education Blood Safety Club signals a new phase in youth involvement in Nigeria’s efforts to improve voluntary blood donation, blood safety, and health.
More collaboration is essential for the commission’s advancement.
For the commission to fulfil its duties, it requires and actively seeks the cooperation and collaboration of all relevant stakeholders. Life is blood. Lives are saved by safe blood. Dr. Ehanire emphasized the importance of providing safe blood and blood products. Speaking further, Dr. Amedu announced that the NBSC would establish a committee in cooperation with other government organizations and the media to put the squeeze on quacks providing blood services across the state of the federation.
The commissioning of the Cold Centrifuge System for Blood Component Separation, according to Dr. Amedu, would improve efficiencies in the National Blood System and fill the disparity in blood and blood product demand and supply. He added that it would reduce waste by making sure that the need for particular blood products, such as fresh frozen plasma, red blood cells, and platelets, can be satisfied. Dr. Amedu believes that this will go a long way toward meeting the demand for adequately screened blood and blood products in the treatment of illnesses like sickle cell disease, severe malaria, cancer, kidney disease, trauma, and bleeding during pregnancy and childbirth.
1% of the nation’s voluntary donation will easily cover transfusion needs.
Dr. Oladapo Aworanti, the acting zonal director for the south-west region of the NBSC, had earlier stated that in order to boost the commission’s productivity, the WHO indicated that if 1% of a nation’s population could regularly donate blood voluntarily, it would be easy to meet its residents’ transfusion demands. According to him, a number of studies conducted in Nigeria have found that the majority of people who donate blood voluntarily without receiving compensation are in the age range of students attending tertiary institutions.
He believes that the fact that blood safety clubs are being established demonstrates that the country is making progress toward a sufficient blood supply. While other dignitaries in their respective goodwill messages, including the Oyo State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Bode Ladipo, the Chief Medical Director of University College Hospital, Prof. Abiodun Otegbayo, and the National President of the Medical and Dental Consultants of Nigeria, Dr. Victor Makanjuola, among other, all promised their assistance in assisting to ensure that the commission can fulfil its mandate.
The new initiative would reduce the risk of transmitting illnesses.
Moreover, according to Dr. Ehanire, NBSC’s Cold Centrifuge system will enable it to provide blood components additional to whole blood, ensuring that blood is used appropriately in the country’s hospitals. He said that doing so would reduce the risk of transmitting illnesses like syphilis, hepatitis B and C, and HIV through blood transfusions as well as adverse transfusion reactions and events, transforming the way blood services are provided in Nigeria. The effect on the nation’s health indicators would serve as evidence of the contributions made by NBSC to the wellbeing of Nigeria’s people.
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