The compulsory donation of blood either by patients or relatives in state-owned hospitals in Lagos has been declared illegal.

Justice Raliat Adebiyi of Ikeja High Court made the declaration on Tuesday while delivering judgment in a suit filed by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), against the state government and government hospitals.

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Justice Adebiyi held: “Demanding compulsory blood donation from those seeking medical attention, including maternity services, is arbitrary, unfair and a violation of their human rights, including the right to life and equal opportunity for everyone within the health system.”

The court ordered the Lagos State Government to stop the policy of insisting on compulsory blood donations from patients or relatives of those seeking medical care and attention before accessing ante-natal, maternal or any health services in all public hospitals and health facilities in Lagos State.

Following the judgment, SERAP has requested Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu “to instruct the Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, to immediately, fully and effectively enforce the judgment stopping all Lagos hospitals and health facilities from demanding compulsory blood donations from patients or their relatives as a precondition for medical attention either in antenatal and maternal or any other health services.

In a letter dated March 3, 2020 and signed by SERAP Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said: “The enforcement of the judgment will be a special moment for the implementation of the government’s strategies towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”

The organisation also said it will improve the chances of everyone, including women, during and after childbirth, and ensure quality health services, “which will contribute to the promotion of these goals.”

Culled from The Nation