The National Coordinator, National Blood Transfusion Services, NBTS, Omale Joseph-Amedu, has restated his agencies commitment to ensuring the safety, quality and standard of blood services in the country.
Mr Amedu made this known while briefing the newsmen in Abuja, at the end of a five-day meeting of experts committee on the development of National Standards for blood safety regulations.
According to him, the essence of the meeting is for experts in blood services to put together a National standard for blood safety through regulation of Blood Establishments in Nigeria.
“In as much as blood is life, blood can equally be a very dangerous and hazardous product to the body. Unsafe blood kills.
“This expert committee consists all national health regulatory bodies, health professional associations and civil society organisations,“ he said.
He said that the committee had come to share knowledge that would ensure safe quality blood and blood products in the country.
According to him, the uniform standards also cover the National Health Act 2014 and the National Blood Service Commission Act awaiting Presidential assent.
Prof. Aisha Kuliya-Gwarzo, President, Nigerian Society for Haematology, noted that Nigeria had reached a point where medical therapy was now improving, adding that there were too many therapies that required blood.
She said the need for blood by some patients required the stringent screening of blood and that this necessitated the development of blood safety guidelines to ensure a standard practice.
Kuliya-Gwarzo said without such guidelines, significant progress might not be made in terms of specialised medical care.
She listed some areas where blood transfusion might be required to include maternal immorage, imoglonocovis, under-five malaria and trauma.
Kuliya-Gwarzo said that the expert committee brainstormed on international best practices before it came up with the guidelines which would soon come into effect.
Dr Idris Saliu, Country Director, Safe Blood for Africa Foundation, stated that there was a need to develop guidelines for optimal best practices for blood transfusion organisations and individual donors.
He noted that while blood safety was being observed in some establishments in Nigeria, in others, it was not, pointing out that this had necessitated the coming up with the guidelines.
Salau said by the time the guidelines become operational, it would impact greatly on blood transfusion activities in the country.
Dr Musa Mulibi, National Secretary, Haematology and Blood Transfusion Scientists Society of Nigeria, stated that the guidelines were developed to the highest standards as it related to blood donor selection and screening, compatibility testing, production of blood products and their administration.
He said that erring operators, not adhering to the guidelines, would face the full wrath of the law.
