Wednesday, 14th June 2017, is World Blood Donor Day. On this day, we celebrate the men and women that generously give the gift of life to people they don’t know by freely donating their blood. As a nation, it should be a time of taking stock of how close we are to the target of all blood donations coming from voluntary donors.
Action On Blood
Action On Blood is a membership organisation of individuals who wish to improve the supply and safety of blood and blood products across Nigeria. They volunteer their time, skills and energy to these goals and commit to donating blood regularly.
The goal of the World Health Organisation (WHO) is that all countries should obtain 100% of their blood supplies through voluntary unpaid donors by 2020. This reflects Resolution 28.72, which, as a WHO member state, Nigeria adopted back in 1975. With just three years to go to the deadline, it is very unlikely we will reach this goal. The former Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH), Mr. Linus Awute, said in June 2015, that voluntary non-remunerated blood donation accounted for only 10% of Nigeria’s total blood collection, while paid/commercial donations accounted for 60%.
The theme for this year’s World Blood Donor Day is blood donation in crisis or emergency situations. With terror attacks in France, Belgium, Germany and more recently in the UK, and our own domestic concerns with Boko Haram, this is particularly relevant. However, the need for blood goes beyond the response to suicide bombers and other opportunistic hijackers of peace. In the last 10 years, more than 250 million people were affected globally by emergencies every year. Natural disasters, such as earthquakes, floods and storms, create considerable needs for emergency health care. Man-made disasters, such as road accidents and armed conflicts, also generate substantial health care demands and the need for front-line treatment.
Blood transfusion is an essential component of emergency health care. An adequate supply of blood during emergencies requires a well-organised blood service, with ready access to safe blood. Given the challenges facing Nigeria’s health care system under normal circumstances, you have to wonder how prepared we are to deal with a crisis or emergency situation. Does Nigeria have enough blood to care for victims of a terrorist shooting spree in downtown Lagos? Can Nigeria deploy blood supplies to remote villages if a mighty storm destroys a major bridge?
One membership organisation of voluntary blood donors, Action On Blood, did more than ask questions. In September 2016, it learnt of a crises situation on it’s own doorstep.
“Nigerian children ‘clinging to life’ as the world ignores humanitarian crisis”: 7 years of Boko Haram insurgency leave 20,000 people dead and estimated 2.6 million homeless.” – Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Within 5 months, Action On Blood members had recruited over 70 voluntary blood donors, organised a blood drive in Lagos, screened the blood for HIV, syphilis and hepatitis and then transported it over 1,225 kilometres to the internally displaced people (IDP) camps in Maiduguri. This was during a period when the northeast was on high-security alert as a result of several suicide bomb attacks. As recently as October 2016, female suicide bombers had killed 17 people at a camp for displaced people in Maiduguri.
because of malnutrition or malaria and some are mothers with severe blood loss from complications during child birth. There are also patients with chronic kidney disease and sickle cell anaemia that rely on blood to stay alive. The international and local aid agencies treating them need blood supplies from the local population and that is proving very difficult to get, given donor numbers were low even before the crises.”
Could we say that for Nigeria to have an adequate supply of blood during emergencies, we first need a well-organised blood service?
“Absolutely!”, says Abiola. “Our focus at Action on Blood is to increase our numbers and build a sizeable blood donor population that is committed to voluntary unpaid blood donation. Without people like us, the aid agencies simply couldn’t respond to crisis or emergency situations properly.”
“But to ‘save the day’ in response to an emergency, we have to be inactive stand-by mode. This means fostering a culture of regular giving that goes beyond individuals donating only when someone in their family needs blood. It means having blood available to meet the enormous demand we get from hospitals every day.”
If you have ever asked “What can I do? How can I help?” in the face of human suffering, find out about regular voluntary, blood donation this World Blood Donor Day. For more information, contact Action On Blood.
Action On Blood
Action On Blood is a membership organisation of individuals who wish to improve the supply and safety of blood and blood products across Nigeria. They volunteer their time, skills and energy to these goals and commit to donating blood regularly.
They use their membership fees and fund raising activities to promote greater participation in voluntary blood donations and to develop a world class blood service that is effective, strong and sustainable.
To become a member or for more information, contact Action On Blood on: +234 (0) 909 632 1874 / [email protected] / Visit actiononblood on FaceBook, Instagram and Youtube.
