Patient Blood Management Programme Development for a Regional Hospital in Kebbi State, North West Nigeria

This study develops and proposes a contextually appropriate patient blood management (PBM) programme for the Sir Yahaya Memorial Hospital, Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State, North West Nigeria. Patient blood management is an evidence-based, multidisciplinary approach to optimising patient outcomes through proactive anaemia correction, minimisation of blood loss, and rational use of blood transfusion, yet structured PBM programmes are rare in Northern Nigerian hospitals. A situational analysis was conducted using facility data review, clinical staff interviews, transfusion practice audit, and anaemia prevalence survey across surgical, obstetric, and medical wards. Transfusion practice was audited against the BSH 2018 guidelines. Current pre-operative anaemia prevalence was 44 percent in elective surgical patients, with only 18 percent receiving pre-operative iron therapy. Intra-operative blood salvage was not practised. Transfusion rates in elective joint surgery exceeded 58 percent. Audit of 200 transfusion episodes identified 49 percent as having potentially avoidable indications by PBM criteria. The study delivers a three-pillar PBM programme framework addressing pre-operative anaemia optimisation, intra-operative blood conservation, and post-operative anaemia management, tailored to the resources and patient mix of Sir Yahaya Memorial Hospital. Implementation phasing, staff training needs, and monitoring indicators are specified for each pillar. Keywords: patient blood management, anaemia optimisation, blood conservation, Kebbi State, transfusion reduction.