By Ayomide Otitoju
The Lagos State Government has launched a local government advocacy campaign to promote voluntary blood donation as a regular lifestyle, urging residents to donate blood regularly to help ensure adequate supplies for emergencies.
The campaign, organised by the Lagos State Blood Transfusion Service (LSBTS), began on Monday, August 24, with an advocacy walk and one-on-one sensitisation at Jubilee Bridge and Jubilee Market in Ajah, Eti-Osa Local Government Area.
The Executive Secretary of LSBTS, Dr Bodunrin Osikomaiya, said the Eti-Osa exercise was the first of 10 advocacy and sensitisation programmes planned across the state’s 20 local government areas.
She said the initiative was aimed at increasing public awareness about voluntary blood donation while giving residents opportunities to donate through a blood mobile stationed at the venue or at designated government hospitals.
Osikomaiya said the campaign would also cover areas including Ojo, Ibeju-Lekki, Badagry, Epe and Lagos Island, with the goal of ensuring safe blood is readily available to residents.
She commended the state government for providing the funding, personnel and logistics needed to strengthen Lagos’ blood supply system.
At MCC Eti-Osa, the LSBTS executive secretary presented blood bags, gloves, sample bottles, donor forms, information materials and voluntary blood donation cards to support blood collection.
She explained that residents issued with voluntary blood donation cards would be entitled to receive blood without out-of-pocket payment when needed.
The Medical Director of MCC Eti-Osa, Dr Olufemi Aletan, said the facility’s partnership with LSBTS had highlighted the importance of having adequate blood supplies, particularly during emergencies involving pregnant women and patients experiencing severe bleeding.
Aletan said the hospital had experienced situations where patients required fresh frozen plasma, stressing that timely access to blood could be critical to survival.
He disclosed that MCC Eti-Osa was working towards establishing an independent blood bank and commended LSBTS for its continued support.
Aletan also encouraged more residents, particularly husbands of pregnant women, to become regular blood donors, assuring that the hospital would continue to improve its transfusion capacity to support safe antenatal care and childbirth.
A 13-time donor, Olawale Alaba, described blood donation as a simple act that should not be limited to emergencies involving family members or friends.
He encouraged eligible residents to donate every three months, saying the gesture could make a significant difference to people in urgent need.
Another donor, Taiwo Abifarin, who has donated twice, said he gives blood because he believes it is a way of saving lives and contributing to society.
First-time donors, including Abdullahi Mohammed, Rabiu Abiodun and Gbadamosi Sulaiman, also urged residents to overcome their fears and embrace voluntary blood donation.
Sulaiman described blood donation as a civic responsibility, recalling that his child had previously required a blood transfusion.
