The Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) has called for sustained voluntary blood donation across Nigeria as hospitals continue to grapple with severe blood shortages, with many blood banks holding supplies that can barely last 24 hours.
World Blood Donor Day 2026
The call was made to commemorate the 2026 World Blood Donor Day, themed “One Drop of Humanity, Give Blood, Save Lives.” The event, organised by the Department of Haematology and Blood Transfusion, aimed to raise awareness about voluntary blood donation, honour regular donors, and commission a new fully automated immunohaematology system to improve efficiency and blood safety.
Blood Shortages Threaten Patient Care
Prof. Titi Adeyemo, Head of the Department of Haematology and Blood Transfusion, stated that blood shortages continue to threaten patient care across the country. She explained that hospitals should ideally maintain blood reserves capable of meeting demand for up to 10 days, but many facilities currently operate with supplies that last only 24 hours.
She noted that inadequate voluntary blood donation often fuels commercial blood donation practices, which are unsafe because donors seeking payment may conceal critical health information during screening.
Consequences of Shortages
Adeyemo warned that blood shortages could force hospitals to postpone surgeries, delay dialysis treatments, and struggle to respond effectively to emergencies involving accident victims, pregnant women, and newborn babies.
She urged Nigerians to embrace regular blood donation, noting that healthy individuals aged 18 to 65 years and weighing at least 50 kilogrammes can safely donate blood every four months.
Dispelling Misconceptions
The professor dismissed widespread misconceptions that blood donation weakens the body, causes weight loss, or leads to infections, insisting that the procedure is safe when carried out according to established guidelines.
Hospital's Blood Needs
Prof. Ayodeji Oluwole, Chairman of the Medical Advisory Committee (CMAC), who represented the Chief Medical Director of LUTH, described voluntary blood donors as the “heartbeat” behind successful surgeries, emergency resuscitations, and lifesaving interventions for mothers and children.
He disclosed that the hospital requires between 20,000 and 25,000 units of blood and blood components yearly to meet patient needs, including trauma victims, women experiencing postpartum haemorrhage, and patients with chronic anaemia requiring repeated transfusions.
Oluwole acknowledged challenges such as low repeat donation rates, intermittent shortages of O-negative blood, inadequate funding for donor mobilisation activities, and persistent misconceptions about blood donation.
Call to Action
Adeyinka Adewale, Coordinator of the Voluntary Blood Donor Recruitment Unit, said World Blood Donor Day provides an opportunity to celebrate individuals whose donations continue to save lives.
Adewale lamented that only three out of every 100 eligible Nigerians donate blood regularly, describing the figure as a call to action rather than a mere statistic. He noted that the hospital's voluntary blood donation rate currently stands at only 12 per cent, stressing that paid and family replacement donation systems cannot match the safety and reliability of voluntary non-remunerated blood donation.
