Upper West NHIA campaigns for blood after shortage


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WA Blood Donation18

By Abubakari
Ibrahim Wangara, GNA

Wa, July 16, GNA – The National Health
Insurance Authority (NHIA) in Upper West in partnership with the Regional
Hospital are campaigning to re-stock blood banks in health centres after
reports indicated that several patients died due to non-availability of blood.

The two state institutions therefore
collaborated to carry out a blood donation exercise in Wa to

By Abubakari
Ibrahim Wangara, GNA

Wa, July 16, GNA – The National Health
Insurance Authority (NHIA) in Upper West in partnership with the Regional
Hospital are campaigning to re-stock blood banks in health centres after
reports indicated that several patients died due to non-availability of blood.

The two state institutions therefore
collaborated to carry out a blood donation exercise in Wa to replenish stocks
in health facilities, particularly in the Regional hospital which served as the
main referral point.

According to the NHIA significant number of
people lost their lives in Ghana’s smallest region predominantly due to
inadequate or non-availability of blood in health facilities hence the need for
the exercise to salvage the situation.

“If you don’t do it, you never can’t tell when
you or your father or mother or any of your relatives will be in need of
blood,” Mr Samuel Lobber Lekamwe, the Regional NHIA Operations Manager told
journalists.

He called on the public to ignore negative
perceptions that donating blood could lead to negative effects and rather give
off blood on regular basis to help save lives.

Madam Kangkpi Thea, the Upper West Regional
Hospital Laboratory Manager, told the GNA that: “The current stock level of
blood at the regional hospital is about 20 units which is woefully inadequate
considering the regional hospital as a referral center for the Upper West
Region”.

He said one major obstacle to the regional
laboratory blood bank was because relatives of patients who received blood
failed to replace the stock.

“We should have not less than 50 units of
blood in the blood bank as a regional hospital,” Madam Thea estimated.

The exercise was organised in Wa Senior High
School Assembly Hall where the public including; students and NHIA Staff from
various districts donated several pints of blood to support the course.

GNA


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