Gladys Nweke
The Rivers State Government through the Braithwaite Memorial Specialist Hospital (BMSH) has commenced Blood Component Production (BCP).
Rivers State Commissioner of Health, Professor Chike Princewill, made this known during ceremonies marking the 2018 edition of the World Blood Donation Day in Port Harcourt, adding that it is the first of its kind in the Niger Delta region.
Prof Princewill, who was represented by the Medical Director, BMSH, Dr Paul Kua, stated that the commencement of BCP in Rivers State is a welcome development for the region.
According to him, the implication of this is that the donated blood can now be separated into fresh frozen plasma (FFP), Platelets, and red cells. This means that one donated pint of blood can be effectively used to save three individual patients, he said.
The Commissioner, who stated this in his speech noted that the theme for this year’s Blood Donation Day in Nigeria, “Be there for someone else, give blood, share life” is intended to draw attention to the roles voluntary systems play in care for one another.
He, therefore, urged people to focus attention on blood donation as an expression of community participation in the health system and the importance of community participation in maintaining sufficient, safe and sustainable blood supplies.
Speaking with TPCN, one of the donors of the day at BMSH, Tina Amaechi, a public health practitioner said she has been donating blood at three months intervals and that it was her fifteenth time.
“Any time I donate blood, I feel refreshed within because my bone marrow will produce a replacement,” she said.
Also speaking, the organizer of the 2018 World Blood Donation Day in Rivers State, Mr. Afam Okafor, a public health practitioner stated some benefits accruable to blood donation.
They include: free basic medical health checks for the donors, a feeling of a sense of fulfillment for having saved somebody’s life, helps the donor’s body to produce new blood cells, and reduction of workload on the heart, kidney, and livers.
