More than 80 per cent of blood donations in Nigeria are from family replacement and commercial blood donors, the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, has said.
He stated this on Friday in Abuja during the commemoration of the World Blood Donor Day organized by the National Blood Service Commission (NBSC).
He said empirical evidence showed that the most reliable and safest source of blood comes from a stable base of regular, voluntary, unpaid blood donors rather than from commercial sources.
The minister said the World Health Assembly Resolution WHA63.12 urges all Member States to develop national blood systems based on voluntary unpaid donations and to work towards the goal of self-sufficiency.
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He said with a population of over 200 million, Nigeria’s estimated blood need is about two million units per annum.
He further said that much less is currently donated, leading to avoidable deaths, morbidities, or ill health, particularly among the womenfolk, newborns, children, and victims of road traffic accidents and insurgencies.
He added that the situation could improve if only 1% of the country’s adult population committed themselves to voluntary non-remunerated blood donation regularly.
The Director General of NBSC, Prof, Saleh Yuguda, said the 20th anniversary of World Blood Donor Day is a timely opportunity to thank blood donors across the world for their life-saving donations over the years and also honour the profound impact on both patients and donors.
He said it is also a timely moment to address continued challenges and accelerate progress towards a future where safe blood transfusion is universally accessible.
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