The Nigerian Medical Association on Monday said the law guiding blood transfusion in Nigeria was inadequate with the proliferation of quackery and other sharp practices in the sector.

The association’s National President, Prof Innocent Ujah, said this in Abuja during a press conference to mark the 2021 World Blood Donor Day.

He said, “The blood transfusion service in Nigeria is plagued by a high rate of commercial blood donation with the attendant risk of transmission of transmissible infections.

“Funding to National Blood Transfusion Service centres across the country is poor leading to deficiency in the quality of her operations.

“Law guiding the practice of blood transfusion medicine in Nigeria is inadequate with the attendant proliferation of quackery and other sharp practices in the sector.

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“State NBTS centres are the worst hit since the withdrawal of donor funds by implementing partners as state governments are yet to take full ownership of such centres in their domain.”

Ujah said NBTS centres were poorly funded and in dire need of an upgrade in terms of manpower, infrastructure, equipment and training.

He noted that there was a yawning gap between the World Health Organisation’s recommended annual blood requirement for Nigeria (2,000,000 units) and the current figure of 1,000,000.

He urged the Federal Government and relevant stakeholders in the health sector to join hands and push for the speedy passage of the National Blood Service Commission Bill.