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Non-Certified Blood Transfusion to Attract Jail Terms
This Day (Lagos)
NEWS
June 5, 2005 </B>
Posted to the web June 6, 2005
By Ndubuisi Ugah
Lagos
Anybody who transfuses blood without endorsement of the Lagos State Blood Transfusion Screening Committee risks imprisonment.
The State Commissioner of Health, Dr Leke Pitan, who said this at this year's 'World Blood Donor Celebration and Voluntary Blood Donation Campaign." He said the state government had to adopt the measure to stem rising incidence of blood transfusions by unauthorised medical personnel.
Speaking on the theme, "Blood: the precious of life," Pitan said "henceforth, we have arrived at a level where anybody who carries out blood transfusion without the consent of or authorised certification of the state blood transfusion screening committee, shall risk a jail term for such an act without any option of fine."
He said the measure is in conformity with the state government's determination to ensure that blood transfusions are carried out without any cause to complicating the patient's state of well being.
According to him, "it is important that this instruction is carried out and also, the public should feel free to alert the Ministry of Health, whenever they come across such act."
On this year's World Blood Donor Day (WBDD), which is slated for June 14, Pitan said the Ministry had to centre this year's theme on "Celebrating your Gift of Blood," because "the day is dedicated to thank the very special people who donate their blood voluntarily and for altruistic reasons."
He said "though we will be celebrating the few voluntary donors that we have (seven persons), we will be focusing more on campaigning for more voluntary blood donors."
This, he said, is aimed at educating and creating more awareness "so we can have a pool of voluntary donors who will donate all year around."
He said "the usual way we recruit our donors in Lagos State is to coerce relatives to replace the blood used for patients, and to ask husbands women to donate one pint of blood before registering their wives for ante-natal services.
"This policy has precipitated some commercial donors finding their ways into our blood banks, having been paid by the relatives. The consequence is wastage of the blood, as these commercial donors have been known to have higher prevalence of HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis than the voluntary donors," he said.
Noting that evidence from around the world has proven that voluntary unpaid donors are the foundation of safe blood, Pitan, said "in the developed world, virtually all donors are voluntary unpaid donors," adding that "Nigerians also need to wake up to this call. We hope to continue this campaign even after celebration of the WBDD, so we can have year round regular voluntary donors."
10 hospitals have been designated as voluntary donor centres where volunteers, wishing to donate blood can go.
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