Koforidua (E/R) July 24, GNA – The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) in collaboration with the Eastern Regional Hospital Blood Bank on Friday raised 100 pints of blood in an exercise aimed at restocking the regional hospital’s blood bank.
The exercise which took place at the Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) College of Education in the New Juaben North Municipality was part of FDA’s annual activities organised to replenishing blood banks countrywide.
Close to 100 students of SDA College of Education and other voluntary donors from the public showed up to donate blood to help raise the needed pints of blood for health facilities.
Mr Peter Kofi Alordzi, Senior Regulatory Officer, Eastern Region FDA, in an interview with Ghana News Agency said the exercise was not only geared towards donating blood but also sought to create public awareness about the importance of blood donation.
He said FDA being a food and drug regulatory body in the country, “sees blood as a biological medicine that cannot be manufactured unless from a donor.”
He noted that lack of adequate blood at the blood banks was contributing to the deaths of many patients at the hospitals and said it was, therefore, important for Ghanaians to inculcate the habit of voluntary blood donation.
Ms Philomena Quayeson, Blood Organiser for the Eastern Regional Hospital Blood bank explained the importance of frequent blood donation, saying, it helped people to stay healthy devoid of terminal sicknesses.
She added that every 105 days red blood cells in the human body system expire and therefore come out as a waste product through sweat, urine and faeces.
Regular blood donation, thus, she said ensured that the process was executed smoothly for healthy living.
Master Emanuel Boateng, a 22-year-old student of the College, who said he was donating for the fifth time shared his experience and reasons with GNA for continuously donating blood voluntarily to save lives.
He said he believed that any pint of blood donated had gone to “save a life” because there had been instances where he travelled and witnessed accident victims having lost blood and needed infusion urgently to survive.
He stated that those experiences coupled with the desire to carry out humanitarian services for the needy encouraged him to donate blood to the blood banks at the hospitals.
GNA