Thursday, June 4, 2009

Introduction To Blood Drive Initiative

Blood Drive Initiative, founded in June 2005 in the University College Hospital Ibadan, is an organisation with a desrie to provide safe and sustainable blood suply to meet the rising need for blood and blood products in Nigeria.

Since the inception of this organisation, we have organized, coordinated and participated in several donation exercises starting with the donation exercise preparatory to the open-heart surgery, which was performed in UCH in 2005.

We observe with dismay that the average, educated, healthy, well-to-do citizen of Nigeria whose lifestlye is compatible with the criteria for a healthy donor does not donate blood unless compelled by circumstances thereby leaving such a delicate duty in the hands of touts and racketeers who donate blood for money without regard to the safety and quality of blood donated.

Nigeria, with a population of over 140 million people, has huge potential to solve its own problem of shortage of blood supply and to export blood products if only we can tap into the vast wealth of human resources that abounds in the country.

The chasm that exists between need and opportunity is what Blood Drive Initiative seeks to bridge by encouraging the right kind of people to adopt a lifestyle of voluntary blood donation.