Laws guiding blood transfusion in Nigeria inadequate, says NMA

The Nigerian Medical Association on Monday said laws guiding blood transfusion in Nigeria were inadequate with the attendant proliferation of quackery and other sharp practices in the sector.

The association’s National President, Prof Innocent Ujah, said this in Abuja during a press conference organised to mark the 2021 World Blood Donor Day.

He said, “The blood transfusion service in Nigeria is plagued by a high rate of commercial blood donation with the attendant risk of Transmission Transmissible Infections.

“Funding to National Blood Transfusion Service centres across the country is poor leading to deficiency in the quality of her operations.

“Laws guiding the practice of blood transfusion medicine in Nigeria are inadequate with the attendant proliferation of quackery and other sharp practices in the sector.

“State NBTS centres are the worst hit since the withdrawal of donor funds by implementing partners as state governments are yet to take full ownership of such centres in their domain.”

Ujah said NBTS centres were poorly funded and in dire need of an upgrade in terms of manpower, infrastructure, equipment and training.

He noted that there is a yawning gap between the World Health Organisation’s recommended annual blood requirement for Nigeria (2,000,000 units) and the current figure of 1,000,000.

He added that the 2021 WBDD celebration with the theme ‘Celebrating the gift of blood’ has also highlighted the uniqueness of the selfless act of voluntarily donating blood and the need for everyone to take responsibility and act to support the drive to make blood safe, available, accessible and affordable.

He urged the Federal Government and relevant stakeholders in the health sector to join hands and push for the speedy passage of the National Blood Service Commission Bill.

He also listed some recommendations made by the NMA to include call for sustained positive action by all stakeholders towards making voluntary blood donation a culture entrenched in all aspects of lives, improved budgeting and release of funds to the NBTS centres across Nigeria, and that governments should take ownership of the NBTS centres in their domain.

Written By: Deborah Tolu-Kolawole

Source: Punch ng

Link: https://punchng.com/laws-guiding-blood-transfusion-in-nigeria-inadequate-says-nma/