Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, saving lives with its blood donation

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission is an Islamic sect that believes in service to humanity as service to God.

The mission has been undertaking diverse humanitarian services to offer help to the distressed irrespective creed, race, religion or tribe. One of such humanitarian services is the blood donation exercise which offers the opportunity for individual Ahmadi muslims to save human lives.

Dubbed “The Amadiyya Muslim Blood drive” was initiated decades ago and has since remained as the mission’s flagship project especially during its annual convention and is aimed at saving lives.

Year after year, the mission employs innovative strategies to increase the output of its blood drive initiative. The objective has been to help in the emergency preparedness of hospitals and blood services by increasing the blood capacity of the nation.

According to the National Blood Service, Ghana is yet to achieve her annual blood requirement needs of 270,000 units from one percent of the donor population. In 2016 for instance, only 60,000 units of blood was collected from voluntary unpaid donors out of a needed 270,000 units.

This, therefore makes the call for constant voluntary blood donation very imperative because every day, children and mothers in childbirth die as a result of acute blood loss. Cancer patients, accident victims, and other patients, need blood transfusion to survive and most, unfortunately, many surgeries have had to be postponed due to the lack of blood.

During the just-ended annual convention, a total of 2,707 units of blood were donated by volunteers of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission. The exercise is a collaboration with the National Blood Service, Ghana, the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital (CCTH), Greater Accra Regional Hospital, Trauma & Specialist Hospital, Tema General Hospital, Mercy Women’s Catholic Hospital, Koforidua Regional Hospital and Tarkwa Municipal Hospital.

Addressing members at the 88th annual Convention, the Ameer and Missionary-In-Charge of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission, Ghana, Alhaji Maulvi Mohammed Bin Salih, who has been a staunch advocate of the blood donation drive initiative, challenged members to break their own national record set in the previous year.

Last year, 2,087 pints of blood were donated by the members during the 87th annual convention, which is the highest any organisation had donated in the country.

The Ameer quoted the Holy Qur'an (5:33) which states “And whoever gave life to one, it shall be as if he had given life to the whole mankind” and remarked, that “We, Ahmadis, see Blood Donation as a form of worship.”

He explained that the blood donation was in fulfillment of the Islamic teachings of love and sacrifice to mankind.

He assured that the Ahmadiyya blood drive initiative would continue unabated to address critical situations and most importantly save lives.

In this regard, he encouraged all to donate blood to ensure that patient and people who were in dire need of blood to survive could be saved, indicating that blood donated was for the sole purpose of saving lives and no other thing.

“What Allah likes best is feeding a hungry person in need or relieving a person of his afflictions. Following this teaching should makes us ever prepared to help anyone in need including donating blood to save lives,” he told the Ahmadi Muslims.

The Ameer noted that Blood and blood products were critical in emergency care and but as an essential as it is, it could not be manufactured and therefore its only source was by voluntary donation.

He said Blood and blood products when required by patients should be given adequately and timely and failure to do so would lead to loss of precious lives.

The Ameer also made a clarion call to corporate bodies to come on board to sponsor the Ahmadiyya Muslim Blood Drive. It is currently sponsored by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission and Kaysen Group with much room left for improvement.

Some of the Ahmadi Muslims, after donating expressed their happiness for donating blood to save lives. Besides saving lives, Ahmadi Muslims have benefited in diverse ways from voluntary blood donation. For the year 2019, a total of 264 units of whole blood and 14 units of Fresh Frozen Plasma were used for 26 Ahmadi’s in critical conditions in about eight hospitals. This was facilitated by the success and connections of Ahmadiyya Muslim Blood Drive.

Mr Micheal Mensah whose wife received three pints of blood during delivery at the Mercy Roman Hospital in Mankessim without paying anything was full of praise for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission for its blood drive initiative.

He says, his wife could have lost her life had it not been the efforts of the Ahmadis to stock the blood bank at the Hospital.

Additionally, Madam Adisa Amoah who lost blood during delivery at the same hospital recounted how she was given three pints of blood without paying anything due to the constant donation by the Ahmadis in Makessim.

In another instance, Ibrahim Idris, an Ahmadi Muslim whose mother received three pints of blood at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital free of charge also narrated how being a donor facilitated the process without delay.

"Madam Zainab Ibrahim who is my mother went to the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital and upon examination, she was told that blood was needed. The arrangement couldn't come immediately but upon realising that I am an Ahamdi, three points of blood was given to my mother. At that point I realized how important it was to donate blood. I then promised to donate blood to save lives," he stated.

These are few of the many instances of how the benevolence of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Mission through its blood drive is saving lives of many Ghanaians across the length and breadth of the country. AHMADIYYA MUSLIM BLOOD DRIVE– 30 MINUTES IS ALL IT TAKES TO SAVE A LIFE.