Lagos - LASUTH doctors take the lead and donate blood

No fewer than 50 doctors yesterday, donated blood at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, LASUTH, Ikeja, for those in need.

The donation was part of the programmes lined up for the Annual General Meeting of the Association of Resident Doctors, LASUTH chapter.

The President of the association, Dr Abdulsalam Moruf, said that 50 pints of blood were donated by the doctors.

“Each person donates about 500 millilitres which is equal to a pint of blood and so if 50 people have donated; it means that 50 pints have been collected.

“If at the end of the programme, more doctors or other volunteers donate, we may have enough blood for the blood bank,“ he said.

Moruf said doctors had been able to identify that there was shortage of blood at the hospital, adding that this informed the donation.

He said that the exercise was a way of encouraging people to voluntarily donate blood to those in need.

“We all know in the country today that there is a Boko Haram crisis, cases of accidents; people took ill and generally some patients need blood.

“As leaders of the profession, we will take the lead, not only in treating our patients, but also in donating blood to them, ‘’ Moruf said.

He said that blood donation would benefit both the patients and the donors in many ways.

“When you give blood, it also serves as a way of doing check up, because blood donation requires tests including blood pressure, hepatitis, HIV and other ailments.

“Also, people who donate blood reduce excess iron in the body which predisposes one to cardiovascular diseases, CVDs.

“Donation itself acts as a form of exercise, because if one pint is collected, one will be losing about 650 calories,“ he said.

In his remark, a volunteer, Dr Jimi Shodipo, said that blood donation was a way of giving back to the society and saving lives.

Shodipo said there was shortage of blood in the country, adding that blood donation was a way of bridging the gap.

“Some areas have shortage than the others like in the Northern part of the country where there is a lot of crisis, injuries, and there is acute shortage of blood.

“But also, there are places like Lagos where you have a large population of chronic illnesses and road traffic accidents and there is need for blood,“ he said.

Shodipo said many people do not cultivate the culture of donating blood due to belief that donating blood would affect their health.

“This is why we doctors have volunteered to donate blood to lead by example.

“It also demystifies the notion that giving blood will make us ill. We also want to discourage commercial blood donation where people will get paid to donate blood,” he said.