A member of the House of Representatives, Rep. Tajudeen Abbas (APC-Kaduna State) says the establishment of the National Blood Service Commission (NBSC) will address sharp practices in blood management in the country.
Abbas at a news conference on Thursday, in Abuja, commended President Muhammadu Buhari for assenting to the NBSC bill, which he said would ensure the safety of blood recipients, donors and handlers.
The rep said that “the Act is an important milestone in blood management in the health sector which was hitherto, bedeviled with sharp practices.”
Abbas, who sponsored the bill, said that the commission was mandated to coordinate, regulate and ensure safe blood transfusion across the country.
“It will address the issue of shortage of blood particularly for people in an emergency, accident victims; this commission will ensure that every person that requires blood during an emergency is able to get blood as and when.
“The same for those in the maternity, we are told that at least 19 women die every minute because of lack of blood at the point of delivery, we believe that this high death rate will be greatly minimized.
“One of the things we stand to gain is the standardization of blood management; it will ensure only good blood of the highest quality will be allowed to be transfused into the patients.
“There is the potential of eliminating commercialization of blood in this country, this commission is going to work to eliminate it,’’ he said.
Also, the Director-General of the commission, Dr. Omale Amedu, commended the lawmaker for standing his ground for the bill to pass in the National Assembly.
He said that the speedy passage and assent underscores the importance of blood saying that blood is life and central to the entire health management.
The director-general said that as important as blood is, if not well managed and administered could be disastrous to recipients, handlers and donors.
Amedu urged Nigerians to freely donate blood saying that blood donors do not only save lives, they live healthier than those who do not.
The doctor said that male adults can donate blood four times a year while their female counterparts can donate three times a year.
He said that the commission had a `One Million Safe Blood Initiative’ which is targeted at ensuring one million pints of safe and accessible blood at all times across the country.
He said that blood that had stayed outside the body for more than 35 days is no longer fit for transfusion but can be used for pharmaceuticals saying that there is no waste. (NAN)
