Blood donation enhances lifespan, reduces premature aging- Expert

On Sep 26, 2023

A professor of haematology and transfusion medicine at the College of Medicine, University of Lagos, Sulaimon Akanmu, has said that Blood donation reduces the risk of premature ageing and also enhances lifespan.

Akanmu said those who donate blood regularly do not suffer from iron-excess-related disorders, which make people age faster, adding that regular blood donation at least twice a year promotes good health.

He urged Nigerians to embrace blood donation while stressing that voluntary blood donation is an essential part of a sustainable blood transfusion system and its importance has been recognised globally.

According to him, transfusion of blood and blood products helps save millions of lives every year and can help patients suffering from life-threatening conditions to live longer.

He explained that the best way to ensure a safe blood supply is through regular donation by voluntary and unpaid blood donors.

The haematologist explained: “People do not believe that they have sufficient blood for themselves. So, they are afraid to donate. People should have the mindset that blood donation promotes their own health. Voluntary blood donation should be twice a year. When it is done over a period of 10 years, they are called volunteer return donors. This group of people have fantastic medical advantages in the sense that they do not suffer from iron-excess-related disorders. In layman’s language, iron-excess-related disorders are chronic disorders that make people age faster when they have excess iron in their body. Regular blood donation therefore enhances lifespan.”

He urged Nigerians to volunteer to donate blood and ignore myths surrounding the exercise, adding that the way out of this is through a knowledge-based campaign to the populace.

Akanmu noted that in the developed world, most blood donors are voluntary, stressing that on their own, people go to blood banks to donate blood freely, which he says was the World Health Organisation standard.

The professor decried Nigeria’s unmet blood needs, saying the country is faced with a huge blood supply deficit far below the WHO’s recommendation.

The WHO stipulates that at least one per cent of the population must be able or willing to donate blood.

“With a population of 200 million people, we need between two to four million units of blood annually in Nigeria going by the indicators that the WHO had provided for us to meet the transfusion requirement of Nigerians,” he said.

The professor counselled relatives of those requiring blood transfusion not to patronise commercial blood donors, warning that commercial donors usually test positive to infectious diseases.

“Nigerians must know that paying for people’s blood is not the way to go. The way to go is voluntary blood donation” he said.

On the importance of obtaining blood from voluntary donors, the blood expert explained that in the transfusion service, “the watchword is safety.”

He said: “All we want in blood transfusion service is safety. Voluntary blood donors are often gainfully employed and, therefore, do not ask for money before donating their blood. Such people usually test negative for infectious diseases. And their blood is usually good because they are not commercialising it. If you screen them and the result is negative, you can trust that result.”

WHO says blood transfusion saves lives and improves health, but many patients requiring transfusion do not have timely access to safe blood.

The global health body noted that providing safe and adequate blood should be an integral part of every country’s national health care policy and infrastructure.

PUNCH/Wumi