Blood donation practices, processing and utilisation of blood components in government tertiary hospitals in Nigeria: a multicentre cooperative study

Background Timely access to safe blood and blood components is still a challenge in Nigeria. This study aimed to determine blood donation practices, processing and utilization of blood components across government tertiary hospitals (THs) in Nigeria.Methods This was a descriptive cross-sectional study done in Nigeria in June-July 2020. Data were analysed with SPSS version 21.0.Results Data were collected from 50 THs. The majority (68%) of the THs lack facilities for blood component preparation and only 18% and 32% provide cryoprecipitate and platelet concentrate, respectively. Whole blood was most commonly requested (57.04%). All facilities tested blood for HIV, HBV and HCV, but the majority (23 [46%]) employed rapid screening tests alone and nucleic acid testing was not available in any hospitals. The manual method was the most common method of compatibility testing in 90% (45/50) and none of the THs routinely perform extended red cell typing. The average time to process routine, emergency and uncross-matched requests were a mean of 109.58 +/- 79.76 min (range 45.00-360.00), 41.62 +/- 25.23 (10.00-240.00) and 11.09 +/- 4.92 (2.00-20.00), respectively.Conclusion Facilities for blood component preparation were not widely available. Concerned government authorities should provide facilities for blood component preparation.