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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.
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CONTEXT: Iron overload has been established to play a role in the etiopathogenesis of Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) as evidenced by its high prevalence among patients with hemochromatosis and transfusion-dependent diseases. This is as a result of iron redox reaction which generates free radicals that cause peroxidation of lipid-rich pancreas, leading to reduced insulin sensitivity. AIMS: This study therefore evaluated the impact of regular blood donation, an effective method of reducing iron load, on ß-islet cell functions and level of glycemic control among regular whole blood donors. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: This is a cross-sectional, analytical study. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Forty-two consenting regular blood donors who had donated whole blood at least twice and not more than thrice in the last 1 year were selected as cases, while 42 age-matched individuals who have never donated blood previously were selected as controls. Samples were obtained and analyzed for fasting plasma glucose, fasting plasma insulin, serum ferritin, transferrin receptor, total iron-binding capacity (TIBC), and serum iron, while Homeostatic Model Assessment (HOMA) of insulin resistance (IR) and beta sensitivity, HOMA-IR, and HOMA-ß-cell function (HOMA-ß%) were calculated for both groups. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED: Statistical analysis was done using Microsoft Excel package and the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). RESULTS: Iron studies among regular blood donors and nondonors revealed lower serum iron (37.2 ± 7.3 vs. 41.1 ± 7.9 µmol/L, P = 0.180) and lower serum ferritin levels (30.2 ± 26.1 vs. 42.9 ± 38.5 ng/mL, P = 0.117), which were not statistically significant, while there were higher serum transferrin receptor (155.5 ± 22.6 vs. 112.8 ± 43.4 ng/mL, P < 0.001) and higher serum TIBC (42.3 ± 6.4 vs. 37.8 ± 7.4 µmol/L, P < 0.05), among cases than controls. The mean HOMA-IR and HOMA-ß% were also significantly better among donors than nondonors. CONCLUSIONS: Regular blood donation may protect the body from the toxic effects of excessive iron store, which includes improved insulin sensitivity and glycemic control.
