In Oshodi-Isolo Local Government Area of Laos State, a private hospital at Ago-Okota has been shut down for reportedly taking unscreened and unlabeled blood from patients and transfusing it.
According to Naija News, the state health facilities monitoring and accreditation agency (HEFAMAA) and the Lagos State Blood Transfusion Service (LSBTS) have ordered the hospital to close.
Dr. Bodunrin Osikomaiya, the executive secretary of the LSBTS, revealed in a press conference at the weekend that the health facility was sealed as a result of a tip from a worried resident.
The institution, according to her, was closed down because it violated the law governing blood transfusion services, engaged in unethical and subpar medical practices, and endangered the lives of unknowing bystanders.
“A concerned citizen had contacted us to report the facility’s unwholesome practices,” she said. When the LSBTS and HEFAMAA enforcement teams visited the facility as part of their joint monitoring exercise in the area following the tip and thorough investigations, they were able to confirm the validity of the unwholesome, unprofessional, and unethical medical practices and behavior of the hospital management.
The Blood Transfusion Service Law, specifically, law 10, item 31, states that no one in Lagos State shall transfuse blood into a patient unless such blood has been screened, tested, and labeled by the state blood transfusion committee and found to be negative for all transmissible diseases including HIV I and II, Hepatitis B and C, Syphilis, and any other disease as may be deemed necessary by LSBTS. This facility was sealed for violating this law’s provision.
Osikomaiya stated that the facility’s administration had provided the names of the blood donors and people who had received transfusions, adding that the state had zero tolerance for the collection and transfusion of contaminated blood and blood products.
She continued by saying that as part of routine, people who received unscreened blood transfusions at the facility are being tracked down in order to find out their clinical health state and determine and guarantee their health safety.
Osikomaiya stated that the hospital’s administration and any employees discovered to have participated in the improper act would face legal action in accordance with the relevant legislation.
She made a call to action to the populace, urging them to report violations and unwholesome behavior when they saw it in order to help wage the struggle against unwholesome blood transfusion services.
She also pleaded with medical professionals and other parties concerned with the blood transfusion chain, such as blood banks, donation facilities, and logistical companies, to rigorously abide by WHO guidelines and the laws of Lagos State on blood donation, collection, and transfusion.
