THE Federal Government says it is an offence for any health facility or blood establishment across the nation to use rapid screening kits to screen blood for human transfusion in Nigeria.
Acting Director-General, National Blood Service Commission (NBSC), Dr Joseph Amedu, who disclosed this at the inaguration of the national blood service Abbott automated blood screening equipment at its South-West zonal centre in Ibadan, said that this is prohibited under the National Blood Service Commission (NBSC) Act 2021 and offenders will be persecuted.
He stated that blood can serve as a route for transmitting infections when it is not adequately screened before transfusion, and is able to kill within a very short time if not properly cross-matched for grouping compatibility.
Dr Amedu stated “That is why we are providing enabling environment for proper screening at all states because we will soon clamp down on all those doing this illegally using the rapid screening kits. The NBSC Acts gives us the room to prosecute you and we will do that over time.”
The acting DG said conditions as obstetrics complications, trauma and injuries from road crashes, bleeding from victims of insurgency and herdsmen-farmers clash, cancer and sickle cell disease require safe, quality blood and blood products for transfusion.
Dr Amedu declared that currently, only 15 per cent of all blood donations in Nigeria come from voluntary unpaid donors and that it is important for Nigeria to have a strong base of voluntary unpaid donors to ensure that everyone who needs safe blood has access to it.
Osun State Commissioner for Health and chairman at the occasion, Dr Rafiu Isamotu stated that it is suicidal to contract any disease from transfused blood and called for all states to buy into the idea of a centralized blood screen service to safeguard the health of individuals from transfusion transmissible infections.
Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde speaking, through the state’s Health Commissioner, Dr Taiwo Ladipo, said the equipment would enhance the upgrade of blood transfusion services in south-western Nigeria even as the state government also centralized its blood screen to prevent quackery and use of rapid kits to screen blood and blood products.
Acting zonal director, NBSC, southwest zonal centre, Dr Dapo Aworanti, stated that the Abbott automated blood screening equipment was the first and only one in the South-West zone that is being used for transfusion medicine.
It can test 100 samples of blood for four transfusion transmissible infections in one hour. Before now, available equipment would test 96 samples of blood for one or two infections in two to three hours.
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