Abuja: The National Blood Service Agency (NBSA) has announced a new collaboration with Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH) and Universit¤tsmedizin Greifswald (UMG) in Germany for the ‘Safe Blood Project’, aiming to bolster the safety and quality of blood transfusion services throughout Nigeria.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Abdullahi Haruna, Head of Media and Publicity at NBSA, disclosed that this strategic initiative is set to build national capacity through targeted training, hands-on skills development, systematic auditing, and sustainability-focused interventions. The project’s rollout includes a Basic Blood Transfusion Course and a Clinical Haemotherapy Course to improve transfusion practices nationwide.
Haruna highlighted that 10 Nigerian healthcare institutions will be chosen to participate through a competitive application process. Eligible institutions must be publicly funded, registered with the NBSA, have a functional transfusion committee, and exhibit a clear institutional strategy for enhancing blood safety, including evidence of management support and prior training efforts.
The training aims to strengthen the knowledge and practices related to safe blood transfusion, promote quality assurance, haemovigilance, and adherence to national guidelines. It also seeks to establish a nationwide network of trained transfusion professionals and mentors. Target participants include medical doctors, laboratory scientists and technicians, donor recruitment officers, phlebotomists, counsellors, and blood bank officers.
Each institution can nominate up to three fully funded participants from various arms of their transfusion services, with opportunities for additional self-funded attendees. The courses are fully sponsored, with selected participants receiving travel and accommodation stipends. Certificates will be jointly issued by NBSA, AKTH, and UMG.