The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) and the Association of Nigerian Private Medical Practitioners (ANPMP) have appealed to the Lagos State Government to develop mechanisms for reducing the unit cost of blood in the state.
The Lagos Chairman of NMA and ANPMP, Dr Babajide Saheed and Dr Jonathan Esegine, made the appeal in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
A circular dated Nov. 15, 2024, conveyed Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s approval for an increase in the cost of blood screening for transfusion transmissible infections by private healthcare facilities.
The circular signed by Mrs Bukola Odoe, Special Adviser, to the Governor on Public-Private Partnership directed an increase in the cost of screening a pint of blood from N5,000 to N15,000 for the three existing private blood screening partners (Darlez, Banner & Solawunmi).
The circular further directed the Ministry of Health and the Lagos State Blood Transfusion Service (LSBTS) to ensure that the new price regime takes effect on Nov. 18, 2024.
NAN reports that every unit of blood collected by registered blood banks must be sent to one of the LSBTS-established screening centres for mandatory testing.
The LSBTS uses automated systems to screen every unit of blood for transfusion-transmissible infections, including HIV type 1 and 2, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, and syphilis, in line with international standards.
Consequently, members of the Blood Bank Society of Nigeria (BBSN), Lagos State Branch, held an online general meeting on Nov. 17, 2024, during which they adjusted the prices for the issuance of blood to their customers.
According to them, the action was triggered by the state government’s sudden increase in the blood screening fee.
Thereafter, BBSN pricing for the issuance of blood saw a unit of positive blood increase from N25,000 to N60,000, while a unit of negative blood rose from N30,000 to N75,000.
Findings by NAN revealed that the unit cost of blood sells as high as N100,000 in some labs across the state.
One year after this development, Saheed disclosed that many patients are suffering, struggling to survive and groaning under the new price regime, describing the unit cost of blood as ‘crazily expensive’.
Saheed urged the government to regulate and subsidise the unit cost of blood, saying, “We cannot begin to commercialise and profit from an essential commodity like blood.
“There are so many vulnerable members of society that depend on blood transfusions to stay alive at one time or the other.
“Most of these patients need multiple units of blood depending on their medical procedure.
For example, a patient who requires three units of negative blood will spend over N200,000, this is minus the cost of the procedure and other expenses that may come up.
Anything you are doing as a government, make it affordable and accessible so that every patient will be able to get it at the nearest place.
“The economy is having a biting effect on citizens. Many citizens are struggling to feed themselves, and those who are sick can barely afford their treatment costs. The government must show empathy in governance and policies,” Saheed said.
He further said that the high unit cost of blood would encourage commercialisation, lamenting that there is no regulation for controlling how blood is sourced in Lagos, especially financially induced donation.
Blood is life. It should be given freely. We need to ask ourselves the questions, is it the bag, screening or the reagents that justify the sale of blood at N50,000 upward?” Saheed queried.
Similarly, Esegine disclosed that the association’s engagement with the government’s representative on the issue was unproductive.
Esegine said, “We were told that the government withdrew the subsidy on blood and that whatever subsidy there is cannot be extended to the private sector.
“That is a very sorry statement to make because you are not subsidising any private sector or private practitioners, you are subsidising the health of the people.
“We are talking of poor maternal health individuals, we are talking about sickle cell anaemia children that need blood transfusions from time to time.
“We are talking of obstetric emergencies where you have haemorrhage as one of the major causes of mortality in women.
“So blood is such an essential commodity that cannot be allowed to be used as an equal of trade, to be profited from.”
The chairman emphasised that the private sector is a promoter of health, salvaging emergency situations, and servicing 85 per cent of Lagos residents with health services.
“You need blood, we get the blood from those who are providing blood service and we give the patient exactly the way it is given to us. We don’t do markup on blood transfusions.
“So when the government says it can’t subsidise the private sector, that is a very tragic statement to make and I would want the government to have a rethink,” Esegine said.
NAN reports that the cost of a unit of blood varies per lab, location and state.
In Ibadan, a unit of blood goes for N20,000 at the University College Hospital (UCH), costs N10,000 at the National Blood Transfusion Agency, while prices range between N20,000 to N30,000 in other laboratories.
