- People must recognise how good it is to give blood – Donor
By Angela Onwuzoo
Each year, thousands of Nigerians rely on receiving donated blood and blood products to stay alive.
Certain injuries and illnesses can quickly cause a person’s blood levels to drop. Without enough blood, they will not receive enough oxygen in their body, thereby resulting in death.
Many hospitals in the country utilise donated blood to save the lives of their patients.
But availability of adequate safe blood has been challenging in Nigeria due to dearth of voluntary blood donors.
While donated blood is beneficial for people in need, some medical professionals maintain that donating blood also benefits the donor.
Recently, Nigeria joined the global community to mark this year’s World Blood Donor Day which seeks to raise awareness about the importance of voluntary blood donation. The Day is celebrated every year on June 14th.
With a population of over 200 million people, Nigeria requires up to two million units of blood every year according to the Federal Ministry of Health. But experts say, Nigeria’s National Blood Transfusion Service is collecting just 500,000 pints of blood annually – a shortfall of more than 75%.
Report shows that there has been a mixed response on the part of many Nigerians when it comes to donating blood , which experts say is about 50- 50.
Despite the awareness so far, there is still a sort of negative stereotype among people . Though there are others who can go to any length to do it, evidence shows that many Nigerians are skeptical of donating blood without knowing that they also share in the benefits and not only the recipients alone.
So far, many Nigerians are not aware that donating blood is a win-win for everyone involved. Recipients get a vital substance and donors get to burn calories, lower their risk of cancer and keep their heart healthy.
Besides, findings show that a lot of ailments with mild or no symptoms, have been discovered during blood donation process through various tests carried out to ascertain the safety of blood.
Medical experts say some intending voluntary blood donors have been discovered to have HIV when tested.
A surgeon working with one of the general hospitals in Lagos who preferred anonymity, told our correspondent that he got five people whom he convinced to donate their blood freely , but on screening , it was discovered that they all had Hepatitis B.
This discovery, he said would help the individuals to seek early and proper treatment to prevent the infection from causing damage to their liver or any other complications associated Hepatitis B such as liver cancer.
The story of a young lady, who simply identified herself as Lucia clearly explains benefits of voluntary blood donation to donors themselves .
Lucia takes delight in donating blood as a way of giving back to the society. But little did she know that her benevolence will someday save her life from a life -threatening disease.
She said: “I came in and gave blood (like every 8-10 weeks). It seemed perfectly normal, and I felt perfectly normal. But, the day after my last donation, the Red Cross called me, and told me I should go to the doctor and have my blood tested.
“They told me that my white blood cell count was very high, and that it needed to be evaluated. I went to my family doctor, and then an oncologist/hematologist. They drew blood and finally drew bone marrow. I was diagnosed with Leukemia and this has been very difficult, but if the Red Cross hadn’t told me about my blood being abnormal, I would not have discovered this by myself.”
” I had no symptoms and it could have developed over a much longer period of time. I will never know how much of a difference that would have made, but I’m very grateful to have found it quickly, thanks to the Red Cross.”
Lucia continued:”I won’t be able to give blood for a long time – if ever, but I have told this story to all of my students, colleagues, friends and family members. They all must recognise how good it is to give blood – not only for victims who need blood, but for the blood donors themselves.”
Transfusion of blood and blood products helps save millions of lives every year . It can help patients suffering from life – threatening conditions live longer and with higher quality of life , and supports complex medical and surgical procedures.
“ It also has an essential , life -saving role in maternal and perinatal care . Access to safe and sufficient blood and blood products can help reduce rates of death and disability due to severe bleeding during delivery and after childbirth.
“ In many countries , including Nigeria , there is no adequate supply of safe blood and blood services face the challenge of making sufficient blood available , while also ensuring its quality and safety”, the doctor said.
According to a public health physician, Dr. Nancy Choi, each person who donates blood completes a simply physical examination and short blood test before giving blood.
“As a result, it is possible that a person could identify unknown health concerns as a part of the blood donation process. These health issues could include blood pressure concerns or low blood counts.
“Often time, it is during blood donation that people find out that they have blood-borne diseases, such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C , or HIV.
“Although low blood counts would stop a person from donating, discovering this information could help them pursue more information about their health” she said.
Pleading with Nigerians to start doing things that could impact the lives of others positively such as donating blood, a regular donor Mr. Azeez Opeloyeru said life experience made him to start donating blood.
According to him, he had a cousin, a sickle cell patient, who died of stroke in 2013.
This experience made him join a network of about 1 , 000 young Nigerians who are voluntarily donating their blood primarily to save the lives of sickle cell patients and secondarily accident victims .
The network is called the Haima Health Initiative.
He explained: “I had a cousin who died of stroke five years ago in Abuja ; he was a sickle cell patient . It was later I understood sickle cell patients need regular blood transfusions . It pained me and since that time , I had been looking for opportunities to donate blood and I got one.
“ Since then, I started donating blood , I feel blessed to be a blessing unto others. Sometime ago , there was a small boy who had an accident in school and was rushed to the hospital . He needed blood badly . I have a boy, so I could relate to the boy’ s condition.
Opeloyeru went on “I was called by HHI to go and donate blood to the boy since I live in Abuja . I was picked and went to the hospital . I could have driven there but I learnt that if you donate blood , you don’ t drive as you will be temporarily weak.
“ My blood was tested and it was discovered that it was compatible with the boy’ s , so I donated it . The boy recovered and today he is still doing fine . Anytime I remember that my blood donation saved the boy’ s life , I am happy . I met the father of the boy recently and he was joyous .”
Confirming the advantages of blood donation, a Consultant Haematologist at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi-Araba, Lagos, Prof. Suleiman Akanmu, said : “One of the medical advantages of donating blood is that the donor will never suffer from diseases related to an excessive amount of iron in the body. There are also mental effects of donating blood regularly, which results in good physical well-being.”
The haematologist noted that regular donation of blood helps the donor to break down fat in his body and protect him against
diseases.
