Blood donation trend in a tertiary hospital in Nigeria

Background: Voluntary donors who ought to be the main source of donor blood are relatively few in Nigeria. There is therefore a need to study current patterns of blood donation and design strategies for improvement. Objectives: To determine the types , age and sex distribution of blood donors in a tertiary Hospital in Nigeria. Method: This retrospective study was conducted in the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital. The study covered the 5 year period from 2004-2008.Information on the types of donation and the demographic characteristics, and blood groups of donors were extracted from the donor register. Results: A total of 21694 units of blood were donated during the 5 year study period. Of these, 99% were from male and 1% from female donors. Majority of donors gave blood as family replacement donations while voluntary donations constituted 2.2% and autologous donations 0.1% of the total. Nearly half of the total number of donors and about three quarters of voluntary donors fell in the young adult age range of 20-29years. Conclusion: Voluntary blood donation which gives the safest blood is not common in Nigeria. Female donors are scarce. Youths and students in the age bracket of 20-29 years are the most appropriate targets for intensive voluntary blood donation advocacy. Key words: Blood donation, tertiary hospital, voluntary donors, female donors