The Director General of the National Blood Service Commission, Dr Omale Amedu, has raiseed an alarm stating that more than 90% of health facilities in Nigeria engage in unregulated blood activities.
Amedu said less than one per cent of health facilities involved in the blood business are registered with the commission.
Speaking at a press briefing on Wednesday in Abuja on the implementation of the blood service regulatory policies as provided in the NBSC Act 2021, Amedu said all blood establishments, including healthcare facilities need to be regulated and coordinated.
Consequently, he said all the Federal Government hospitals, Federal Capital Territory health facilities, private hospitals, individuals, and international health facilities involved in blood transfusion, blood components separation, and apheresis in Nigeria are to register with the commission within 30 days or face sanctions as provided by the NHAct, 2014 and the NBSC Act, 2021.
He said, “Before now, some people who get involved in the blood business don’t understand what it means to have safe blood. Within the city centres, among the health workers and hospitals, several sharp practices are going on within the hospitals, especially tertiary and teaching hospitals, because there have been no laws that give strength to regulations. Now that there are law regulations, our business is to ensure that no Nigerian receives blood that is not safe.
“More than 90% of the hospitals in Nigeria are still going through the sharp practices of unregulated blood transfusion. The management of the hospital may not understand what is going on in their laboratory services. Again, if you get to hospitals, they will ask you two to three pints before your patient can be transfused, but many a times these patients don’t even receive a pint of blood.
“There are less than one per cent of centres registered, and it’s alarming because people don’t bother what they do.”
He added that no blood should be transfused in Nigeria without the NBSC seal or accreditation.
“Anyone receiving blood or blood product transfusion in any health facility in the country must ask to see the NBSC seal. Do not accept blood without the NBSC seal because it is not safe,” he said.