Kaduna: An NGO, Beacon of Transformative and Inclusive Development Centre (BEACON), has urged Nigerians to donate blood to help bridge the significant supply gap in the country.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the Executive Director, Mrs. Abigail Olatunde, made the call in a statement in Kaduna to commemorate World Blood Donor Day. Olatunde highlighted the dire situation, noting that Nigeria requires 1.8 million pints of blood annually but collects less than 500,000 pints, leaving over 1.3 million people without access to blood when they need it most.
Olatunde expressed concern over the severe consequences of this shortage, including mothers dying in childbirth, untreated children with sickle cell anemia, and accident victims dying while waiting for blood. She pointed out that this scenario is not just a medical issue but also a matter of equity, access, and social protection.
She explained that the cost of processing blood donations is relatively low, with public systems requiring about N6,500 per unit. Bridging the national gap of 1.3 million pints would cost approximately N8.45 billion per year, constituting less than 0.5 percent of Nigeria's federal health budget and only seven percent of Kaduna State's health budget.
Olatunde stressed that while the financial cost of saving lives through blood donation is small, the human cost of inaction is unbearable. She cited examples from other countries, such as India and Rwanda, where strategic initiatives like mobile blood donation clinics and centralized blood services have proven effective in closing the supply gap.
According to her, more than 70 countries now meet nearly all blood demand through voluntary, unpaid donations supported by public investment. These systems, although not perfect, demonstrate the potential outcomes when leadership, funding, and public trust are aligned.
The executive director called on the federal and state governments to make strategic investments by allocating at least N8 billion to N10 billion annually to national blood services. She also urged the integration of emergency blood access into the National Health Insurance and primary healthcare systems and called on Nigerians to support voluntary blood donation through education, outreach, and donor recognition.
Olatunde also appealed to communities, private sector partners, media, and development agencies to foster a culture of safe and voluntary blood donation, especially in underserved areas.