According to Professor Vincent Osunkalu, who serves as the Head of Haematology and Blood Transfusion at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, donated blood cannot be provided to patients without charge because of the expenses involved.
He pointed out that blood transfusions must undergo mandatory screenings for diseases set by the World Health Organization before being given to patients, which entails costs. The News Agency of Nigeria has conveyed that blood donation involves the voluntary extraction of blood from an individual for transfusion purposes.
The haematologist stated, “It is very good for us to clear the misconception that once people donate blood, it should be given free to patients who need it.
“For every blood donated, there is a cost attached to it. The special bag used to collect blood from donors is above N4,000, grouping and cross-matching are also done to be sure the person receiving the blood is compatible with the donor.
“Donated blood is screened for Hepatitis A, B and C, HIV, syphilis and other diseases covered by the World Health Organisation before blood transfusion, and all these various screenings come at a cost.
“When you add up all the costs, you will realise that the cost of giving out blood in government-owned hospital is highly subsidised.”
He urged the people of Nigeria to willingly offer blood donations to assist the country in achieving the annual blood requirements set by the WHO.
“The WHO estimates that blood donation by one per cent population of a country is generally the minimum needed to meet a nation’s basic requirement for the blood bank.
“Nigeria gets only 27 per cent of its annual blood needs leaving a shortfall of about 73 per cent of need every year.
“We appeal to Nigerians to donate their blood to make blood available and save lives,” Osunkalu pleaded.
He further emphasized the importance of healthcare workers being vigilant in maintaining the safety of blood throughout the donation and transfusion process. He also highlighted that the safety protocols for blood begin even before it is collected, and once blood is given, it cannot be retrieved.
“The person donating blood must meet certain criteria to donate; physicians, lab scientists and even clerical staff writing the names and exact group on the blood bag must carry out their task diligently.”
