NBTS Vows To Declare State Of Emergency On Blood Donation

The National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS), South-South Zonal Centre, Benin, has vowed to declare state of emergency on blood transfusion to attract free blood donation.

Mr Peter Ezemede, the Linkage Focal Person for the centre, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Benin.

Ezemede stressed the need for the declaration of state of emergency, saying it has become necessary as women giving birth, sickle cell anemia patients, accidents victims died as result of nor availability of blood.

He explained that the high rate of pints of blood in hospital was making it unaffordable.

He said there is urgent need for the centre and Nigerians to discouraged commercial blood donation.

The focal person stressed that the commercial blood donors had made pints of blood very expensive at the hospital.

According to him a pint of blood is sold for N2, 000 at NBTS, while in the private hospital it is sold between N7,000 and N8,000.

He, however, called on the Federal and state governments and well meaning Nigerians to give logistic support to the centre to effectively carry out its educational awareness campaign.