World blood donor day

By Adeyinka Adenikinju

Amedu said “When you are asked, requested or coerced to donate blood to someone you know, it means you are saving someone you know, but voluntary unpaid donors are committed to saving the lives of unseen and unknown persons, and for that, we appreciate them for what they are doing.”

June 14, 2022, was designated and celebrated in countries around the world as the World Blood Donor Day (WBDD) with the theme: Donating blood is an act of solidarity. Join the effort and save lives According to the World health organisation, this event’s several goals which include: raise global awareness of the need for safe blood and blood products for transfusion; highlight the critical contribution voluntary, unpaid blood donors make to national health systems; support national blood transfusion services, blood donor organisations, and other non-governmental organisations in strengthening and expanding their voluntary blood donor programmes by reinforcing national and local campaigns (WHO, 2022).

The global theme of World Blood Donor Day changes each year with the criteria being to recognize selfless individuals who donate their blood to people unknown to them. Safe blood and blood products transfusion in sufficient quantity is the pivotal part of an effective health system.

A country is always chosen to host global celebration events each year, and this year was held in Mexico City, Mexico through its National Blood Centre.

The day also provides an opportunity to call to action governments and national health authorities to provide adequate resources to increase the collection of blood from voluntary, unpaid blood donors and to manage access to blood and the transfusion of those who require it.

The specific objectives of this year’s campaign were to: thank blood donors in the world and create wider public awareness of the need for regular, unpaid blood donation; highlight the need for committed, year-round blood donation, to maintain adequate supplies and achieve universal and timely access to safe blood transfusion; recognize and promote the values of voluntary unpaid blood

donation in enhancing community solidarity and social cohesion; raise awareness of the need for increased investment from governments to build a sustainable and resilient national blood system and increase collection from voluntary non-remunerated blood donors (WHO, 2022). As planned and encouraged, this year world Blood Donor Day saw countries in the world implement the dissemination to various media outlets; stories of people whose lives have been saved through blood donation as a way of motivating regular blood donors to continue giving blood, and to motivate people in good health who have never given blood to begin doing so.

Other activities that were implemented to keep the slogan of this year’s World Blood Donor Day include; donor appreciation ceremonies, social networking campaigns, special media broadcasts, social media posts featuring individual blood donors with the slogan, meetings and workshops, musical and artistic events to thank blood donors and celebrate solidarity, and colouring iconic monuments red. In Africa, access for everyone who needs blood is universal with demand regularly surpassing supply, negatively impacting timely access

for all patients who need safe and quality-assured blood to save their lives. A noticeable drop in voluntary unpaid blood donations can be attributed as one of the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, Malawi, for example, registered a 46% decrease in donations. The situation remains challenging, and it is exacerbated by issues such as staff shortages and limited funding from governments and partner organizations for effective blood donor education, recruitment, and retention (Moeti, 2022). Despite these situations, countries in Africa have strived to improve blood donation frequency, and the situation is showing signs of stabilizing with blood transfusion services in many countries reaching out to blood donors through public awareness campaigns, transporting donors from and to their homes, using digital platforms and establishing call centres (Moeti, 2022). In Nigeria, to mark World Blood Donor Day 2022, the Institute of Human Virology Nigeria (IHVN) has joined the National Blood Service Commission (NBSC) and other stakeholders participated in a road walk

to sensitize the public on the importance of blood donation. The road walk was within the Abuja metropolis from Berger roundabout to the NBSC Wuse Zone 3 office (IHVN, 2022). The Acting Director-General of the National Blood Service Commission (NBSC), Dr Omale Amedu, urged Nigerians to regularly donate blood to improve their health and be able to have children during his interview with newsmen in Abuja ahead of the World Blood Donor Day 2022. According to him, regular blood donation not only saves lives but also enables the donor to obtain good health and a renewed system.

Amedu said “when you are asked, requested or coerced to donate blood to someone you know, it means you are saving someone you know, “but voluntary unpaid donors are committed to saving the lives of unseen and unknown persons, and for that, we appreciate them for what they are doing.

“Our target is to ensure blood units collected will increase from the present 25,000 to one million by 2023 and three million by 2030,” he said (Muanya, 2022).

In Nigeria, an expert and Consultant Haematologist, Dr Peter Ogundeji (who works at the University College Hospital), has called for the establishment of a national haemovigilance system to ensure quality and safety in blood transfusion due to the high number of quackery ongoing in the medical profession with unqualified doctors causing all manner of consequences. This legislation would coordinate, regulate and ensure the provision of safe, quality blood transfusion services on a countrywide basis within the national health plan. Ogundeji noted that the National Blood Service Commission Law signed by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2021 regulated blood transfusion services in Nigeria, and He appealed for the domestication of the law by more states and the implementation of the regulation to improve blood transfusion service in the country (Muanya, 2022). Other organisations and parastatals engaged in various activities to mark the World Blood Donor Day 2022; Media houses dedicated special programs to this cause. We commerorated this year’s edition across our social media channels and educated our staff on the importance of blood donation.

As a reminder the World Health Organisation (WHO) specifies that Blood and blood products are essential resources for effective management of women suffering from bleeding associated with pregnancy and childbirth; children suffering from severe anaemia due to malaria and malnutrition; patients with blood and bone marrow disorders inherited disorders of haemoglobin and immune deficiency conditions; victims of trauma, emergencies, disasters and accidents; as well as patients undergoing advanced medical and surgical procedures (WHO, 2022).

So do find the goodwill to donate blood voluntarily with the stack reminder that blood shortages are particularly acute in low- and middle-income countries including Nigeria and by doing so you will be partaking in this act of solidarity.

Join the effort and save lives.