Background/Case Studies: Nigeria struggles to meet its blood demand, fulfilling only 27% annually, contributing to poor maternal health outcomes1. Over 95% of the about 500,000 units obtained annually are commercially sourced, potentially encouraging malpractice and increasing risks of transfusion-transmitted infections1. Furthermore, less than 1% of blood service facilities are registered with the National Blood Service Commission (NBSC), resulting in poor oversight and inaccessibility during emergencies2. Wastage compounds these challenges, necessitating an integrated system3. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to help Nigeria address its blood inventory management and supply challenges.
Study
Design/Methods: The authors propose an AI-powered platform that has five key features:
Donor Management: to cover registration, donation history, eligibility screening, appointment scheduling, and reminders. It will also include a module for reporting adverse reactions, which can be used to contact past donors during emergencies like insurgency attacks, birth complications, or road traffic accidents.
Predictive Analytics: to forecast blood demand and inform targeted, location-specific blood drives.
Social Listening: This will conduct real-time sentiment analysis of content on meta platforms X, LinkedIn, and TikTok. It will use specific keywording to aggregate data over time to identify donor concerns and misinformation. Derived insights will guide targeted, myth-busting campaigns to boost voluntary donations.
Geolocation: to locate the nearest legally registered blood bank and view available units in real-time by blood donors, recipients, and emergency responders. Inspired by ride-hailing apps, this feature can improve emergency access and guide donors to nearby facilities. It can also help to force quacks out of business, as only the facilities registered by the NBSC will be listed on the platform, allowing for better oversight and planning.
Real-time Dashboard: A centralized interface for updating and monitoring stock levels, blood types, expiration dates, and discard reasons3. It enables data-driven decision-making, transparency, and identification of capacity gaps across blood banks. It can also help to guide stock exchanges between facilities to minimize wastage.
Results/Findings: Guided by local data governance laws, the platform will have multiple permission privilege levels for different stakeholder groups, ensuring secure, role-based access.
Conclusions: The platform offers a comprehensive, scalable solution for improving blood safety, supply, and emergency response in Nigeria. Combining AI, real-time visibility, and proactive engagement enhances the blood system efficiency, saving lives and potentially improving maternal health outcomes.
