The Head of Haematology and Blood Transfusion at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos (LUTH), Prof. Vincent Osunkalu, says donated blood cannot be given for free due to the cost involved.
Osunkalu spoke against the backdrop whereby many Nigerians believe that blood that has been donated should be given free to patients who need blood.
According to him, before any blood is transfused into a patient, it must have met the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s mandatory screening for various diseases which involves costs.
Blood donation occurs when a person voluntarily has blood drawn from him/her and used for transfusions.
Osunkalu said: “It is very good for us to clear the misconception that once people donate blood, it should be given free to patients who need it.
“For every blood donated, there is a cost attached to it. The special bag used to collect blood from donors is above N4,000, grouping and cross matching is also done to be sure the person receiving the blood is compatible with the donor.
“Donated blood is screened for Hepatitis A, B and C, HIV , syphilis and other diseases covered by the World Health Organisation before blood transfusion; and all these various screenings come at cost.
“When you add up all the costs, you will realise that the cost of giving out blood in government-owned hospitals is highly subsidised.”
