Dr. Justina K. Ansah, Director of National Blood Service, said on Tuesday that there is no formal National Blood Policy (NBP), to clearly define the roles and functions of stakeholders involved in blood collection and storage.
She said health facilities that are not under the Ghana Health Service also have no access to quality blood products.
Dr. Ansah made this known when the National Blood Service held its first ever annual performance review in Accra to outline the success and challenges of the service as far as blood donation and life saving is concerned.
The theme for the review: “Towards Achieving a Safe, Adequate and Sustainable National Blood Supplies based on 100 per Voluntary Non-remunerated Blood Donation,” was to champion the act of voluntary blood donation among Ghanaians.
Dr. Ansah said the service is faced by under-developed quality culture and structures precipitated by lack of supervision and coordination; while the absence of a regulatory framework had resulted in the lack of conformance to standards of practice along the blood chain.
She, therefore, called on parliament to pass the National Blood Policy Bill to ensure its smooth function.
Dr. Paul Mensah, Head of Southern Area Blood Centre, said there is a need for the creation of blood collection teams and regional sub-centres for processing and distribution of the vital substance.
Dr. Afisah Zakariah, Director of Policy Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Ministry of Health, congratulated the blood service for their work to save the lives of Ghanaians.
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