The Beacon of Transformative and Inclusive Development Centre (BEACON), a non-governmental organization, has called on Nigerians to actively participate in blood donation efforts to help close the country’s significant blood supply gap.
The appeal was made by BEACON’s Executive Director, Mrs. Abigail Olatunde, in a statement issued in Kaduna on Saturday to commemorate World Blood Donor Day.
Olatunde revealed that Nigeria requires approximately 1.8 million pints of blood annually, yet collects less than 500,000 pints, leaving a shortfall of over 1.3 million pints. This alarming deficit, she said, puts countless lives at risk.
“This shortage has devastating consequences — mothers dying during childbirth, children with sickle cell anemia going untreated, and accident victims losing their lives while waiting for blood,” she stated.
Olatunde emphasized that the issue goes beyond medical logistics, calling it a matter of equity, access, and social protection.
She noted that processing a single unit of blood in public health systems costs around ₦6,500, meaning that closing the national gap would require approximately ₦8.45 billion per year — less than 0.5% of the federal health budget, and just 7% of Kaduna State’s health budget.
“The cost of saving lives through blood is relatively small, but the cost of inaction is unbearable,” she warned.
Highlighting global success stories, Olatunde pointed to India’s mobile clinics and digital tracking systems that have scaled up voluntary donations, and Rwanda’s centralized blood services that ensure rural hospitals receive timely supplies.
She added that over 70 countries now meet nearly all of their blood needs through voluntary, unpaid donations backed by public investment.
“These systems aren’t perfect, but they prove what’s possible when leadership, funding, and public trust work together,” she said.
Olatunde therefore urged federal and state governments to strategically invest ₦8–₦10 billion annually into national blood services. She also called for the integration of emergency blood access into the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) and primary healthcare systems.
Beyond government, she appealed to communities, the private sector, media, and development partners to help build a culture of safe and voluntary blood donation, particularly in underserved areas.
“This is not just a call for blood — it’s a call to action, to equity, and to shared responsibility,” she concluded.
