Head of Haematology and Blood Transfusion, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Southwest Nigeria, Professor Vincent Osunkalu, says donated blood cannot be given for free to patients due to the cost involved. Speaking against the backdrop of opinions and belief in some quarters that blood that has been donated should be given free to patients who need blood, he said before any blood is transfused to a patient, it must have met the World Health Organization’s mandatory screening for various diseases, which comes at some costs.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that blood donation occurs when blood is voluntarily drawn from an individual and used for transfusions. The haematologist said, “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 Organization before blood transfusion, and all these various screenings come at a cost. “When you add up all the costs, you will realize that the cost of giving out blood in government-owned hospital is highly subsidized.”
He called on Nigerians to donate blood voluntarily to help the country meet the WHO’s expected blood needs annually. “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 appealed.
He also urged health personnel to ensure blood safety during donation and transfusion, adding. “Once you give blood, you cannot take it back, all the activity to ensure the safety of blood begins even before the blood is collected. “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.”
