According to latest figures from the National Blood Services Commission (NBSC), Nigeria is only able to produce 25 per cent – that is 500,000 – of the two million units of blood required yearly. To meet the required two million units of blood at the cost of N60,000 per unit, Nigeria needs N90 billion to produce the balance of 1.5 million.
As the World mark World Blood Donor Day (WBDD) today, June 14, the theme of this year’s WBDD is: “Give Blood, Give Plasma, Share Life, Share Often”. It focuses on patients requiring life-long transfusion support, such as patients with sickle cell anaemia, and underlies the role every single person can play, by giving the valuable gift of blood or plasma as indeed “Blood is Life”.
Acting Director General of NBSC, Dr Joseph Amedu, said that Nigeria lacks sufficient blood to cater for its population of over 200 million people.
“Based on WHO’s standard, every country is to have a minimum of one per cent of blood unit of her population for operations. However, with Nigeria’s population, about 2,000,000 units of blood per year would be required. Out of this, Nigeria is yet to get 500,000 blood units per year, which is as a result of unwillingness to donate.” He said the greatest challenge of blood donation and blood transmission in Nigeria is that it is capital intensive.
“To produce a single unit of the same blood requires between N50,000 – N60,000 and this is a huge amount. By the time one spends over N100,000, he or she will realise how much has been spent so far,” he said.
Amedu said there is need to invest in the blood services so that the blood can be made available to every Nigerian, for people that live in the rural areas to have access to safe blood.
He said blood is hugely expensive and there is a need for the Federal Government, the State governments, and the Local Governments and the private sector to invest in producing blood components such as plasma. “All these could be produced and sold, it is also a good investment,” he said.
Amedu said another major challenge is the cost of producing safe blood for transfusion in large quantities for the country, and of course for sickle cell patients and cancer patients who depend on blood products. These are things that are very important and need to be provided to ensure the health of the nation.
“So, the Federal Government needs to understand the importance of blood services to the healthcare of the nation. This will help in having enough blood for the people because it requires a lot of cooperation, a lot of capital, a lot of investment and funds for other blood equipment that are really expensive, to keep the country safe.”
According to WHO, a blood product is any therapeutic substance derived from human blood, including whole blood and other blood components for transfusion, and plasma-derived medicinal products.
It said medicinal (medical therapeutic) products derived from human donations of blood and plasma play a critical role in health care. According to WHO, safe, effective and quality-assured blood products contribute to improving and saving millions of lives every year, as they address child mortality and maternal health; dramatically improve the life expectancy and quality of life of patients suffering from life-threatening inherited disorders, such as haemophilia, thalassaemia and immune deficiency, and acquired conditions such as cancer and traumatic haemorrhage; and support complex medical and surgical procedures, including transplantation.
