National Blood Service calls for increased voluntary blood donation

Chief Executive Officer of the National Blood Service Ghana, Dr. Shirley Owusu-Ofori is calling on Ghanaians to volunteer to donate blood regularly to stock up blood banks across the country and save lives.

During the service’s annual performance review ceremony in Accra, Dr. Owusu-Ofori said the national blood service is an essential and critical healthcare provider, and therefore any shortage of blood puts the healthcare system at risk.

She said despite the numerous challenges facing the service in terms of logistics, equipment and finance, the service has performed creditably throughout the year.

According to reports from the National Blood Service, blood donation figures dropped from 173,938 in 2021 to 169,435 in 2022. CEO of the National Blood Service, Dr. Shirley Owusu-Ofori said, if the figures keep dropping, it would create a huge shortage at blood banks and hospitals across the country.

She, therefore, urged all Allied Health Institutions, agencies of the ministry, and its partners to be agents of positive change and establish corporate blood donor clubs to promote voluntary donations.

Deputy Minister of Health, Tina Mensah said, as the service strives to ensure adequate blood supply for clients, it must take the opportunity to encourage all to keep the faith and unity whiles upholding the core values of professionalism and teamwork to forge ahead. She said, the inability of the service and the country to meet the said target for voluntary donation every year leads to the shortage of blood and some maternal mortality cases.

She called on the board, CEO, and management of the blood service to make intensive efforts of discovering innovative ways of stepping up public advocacy.