According to the World Health Organisation, WHO, national blood policy is a formal statement of intent that addresses the key organisational, financial, technical and legal issues for the establishment and development of the national blood system.
Pregnant-mother
The policy document also affirms government commitment, defines the measures to meet the transfusion requirements of the patient through provision of adequate supplies of safe blood and blood products, defines the strategy for promoting the safety and health of blood donors, the recipients of blood and blood products, health care workers and the environment.
Although Nigeria’s policy captures all these and more, Mrs Grace Olaode and many other pregnant women and their husbands in Lagos may not enjoy it.
This is because in Lagos, even though the national blood policy recommends that blood be recruited voluntarily in line with WHO’s standards, Mr. Alex Olaode and husbands of other pregnant women must donate blood before their wives deliver in any of the Lagos State public hospitals.
Mrs. Olaode, after a laboratory pregnancy test confirmation, registered for antenatal care at the Island Maternity Hospital, Lagos. During her first visit to the hospital, she was intimated by one of the nurses that she had to bring her husband to donate a unit of blood to the hospital. According to the nurse attending to her, the hospital would need the blood during her delivery, in case of emergency.
Grace tried to resist the position of the hospital. According to her, her husband is a voluntary blood donor in Lagos and recently donated to the hospital. Unfortunately, all the explanations fell on deaf ears as the nurse maintained that she would not be attended to during subsequent visits including delivery if she failed to bring her husband to donate blood.
“I went as far as showing them my husband’s card as a voluntary blood donor in Lagos. To them, I was just making noise. I tried to resist the policy but they had their way. My husband donated.”
Unlike Grace, Mrs. Bridget Ekwume could not deliver in any of the Lagos hospitals because her husband vehemently refused to donate blood. Bridget delivered at a private hospital because her husband barred her from visiting the government owned hospital ever again.
Investigation by Sunday Vanguard revealed that the compulsory blood donation has scared many pregnant women who ordinarily would have delivered in government – owned hospitals away from the facilities.
Meanwhile, the Country Director, E4A Mamaye, Dr. Tunde Segun, mandatory blood donation is not ideal in saving life. Reports showed that 34 percent of pregnant women die in labour as a result of complications of bleeding and lack of blood for transfusion in Nigeria.
Unfortunately, blood and blood components transfusions are required every day to save thousands of lives in our hospitals. At the moment, with Nigeria’s level of health care delivery, it is estimated that about 1.5 million units of blood is required generally per annum. A national baseline data survey on blood transfusion indicated that, in the public sector, donor population was made up of 25 percent commercial donors and 75 percent of replacement donors while voluntary unpaid donors were negligible.
But the question on the lips of the people is, should a woman whose husband refused to donate blood die from child birth?
The national blood policy in Nigeria states that blood donation shall be based on the principle of regular, voluntary and non-remunerative.
The policy also notes that financial reward for the donation of blood or blood component shall be prohibited and donor appreciation by the giving of tokens, certificates, badges and the refund of direct transport expenses are acceptable.
The policy also draws attention to donor safety, care and comfort to be paramount throughout the service, adding that the family replacement donation system shall be gradually phased out as
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