The Head of the Southern Area Blood Centre of the National Blood Service (NBS), Dr Paul Mensah, has said the units of blood available in the blood bank is not enough to supply the hospitals in the Accra Metropolis.
According to him, blood available at the bank can only last for two to three days, thus the urgent need for the bank to be replenished in order to meet the demand of the hospitals in the metropolis.
Challenges
Speaking to the Daily Graphic, Dr Mensah attributed the cause of the acute blood shortage to the refusal of the public to donate blood due to misconceptions and fear of the unknown.
According to him, these problems have prevented most people from donating to stock the centre.
“It is only 50 per cent replacement donors that constantly donate to replace the blood in the bank, and we cannot depend on that as a country,” he said.
He, therefore, called for more voluntary donors to donate to stock the blood bank to save lives.
Appeal to corporate Ghana
Dr Mensah further appealed to churches, stakeholders, corporate organisations and other institutions to embark on sustained blood donation exercises to increase the stock level at the centre.
“If each person can donate once a year, we can be assured of distributing enough blood to various hospitals in the metropolis,” he emphasised.
According to him, plans are underway to carry out intensive public education to sensitise the public to the need to donate blood to avoid the regular and constant shortages in the country.
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