By Marmle Ramani
Accra, Aug. 22,GNA – On Tuesday, March 17, 2026, at the Annual Performance Review of the National Blood Service(NBS) in Accra, there were two stories in one room. The first was a triumph. The second was a quiet warning.
Dr. Shirley Owusu-Ofori, the Chief Executive Officer, NBS, took the podium to announce that Ghana had done what it set out to do.
In 2025, the Service collected 204,000 units of blood, surpassing its national target of 200,000 units. The national blood collection index rose from 6.1 to 6.6 — one of the strongest performances the Service has recorded in recent years.
It was a milestone worth noting. But Dr. Owusu-Ofori did not let the applause linger for long, because behind that achievement lay a stark, uncomfortable truth: 204,000 units of blood covered only about 66% of Ghana’s actual annual blood need of 308,000 units. That leaves a deficit of over 100,000 units — and patients are waiting in that gap.
“A persistent and growing demand for blood across this nation stretched us as a service, but the gap between supply and demand remains a major concern.” Dr. Owusu-Ofori said.
When a Statistic Becomes a Patient
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That gap is not abstract. It shows up in emergency rooms when an accident victim needs an urgent transfusion. It shows up in maternity wards where mothers bleed after childbirth. It shows up for children living with sickle cell disease and severe anaemia.
The CEO reminded the gathering that each unit holds life-saving value. When it is not there, the system feels it — and families feel it even more.
What is Holding Us Back?
According to Dr. Owusu-Ofori, the shortfall is driven by three structural challenges that have persisted for years:
1. A Fleet Running Empty
Ageing vehicles and weak logistics are limiting how far and how often the Service can go. Mobile blood drives — the lifeblood of voluntary donation in schools, churches, workplaces and communities — have had to be scaled down.
2. Funding Constraints
From cold-chain storage to donor care, the cost of running a safe, national blood system is high. Current funding levels are not keeping pace with demand.
3. Myths That Cost Lives
Voluntary donation remains low. Misconceptions that donating makes you weak, sick, or spiritually vulnerable, coupled with negative past experiences, continue to keep many Ghanaians away from donation beds.
The Way Forward: Digital and Communal
There is a clear plan to change course. Dr. Owusu-Ofori disclosed that the Service has developed a National Digital Information Management System — an end-to-end platform to track blood from donation to transfusion. The innovation is expected to improve safety, reduce wastage, enhance accountability, and ensure blood gets to where it is needed, when it is needed.
“This is one thing I want you to put your money on — to help us roll out a system that will digitalise and revolutionise blood services across the whole country,” she appealed to the government, private sector partners, and development agencies.
But her most passionate appeal was to the public. In a call for stronger partnerships, better donor education, and sustained voluntary donation, she reframed blood donation not as charity, but as community.
“Blood donation is not only a solitary act but a communal covenant that binds donors, health workers, and patients in a common purpose of preserving life,” she said.
The Bottom Line
Ghana has shown it can meet its targets. The next frontier is to meet the _need_. It will require investment in vehicles, in systems, and in people. And it will require each of us to walk into a donation centre and offer a part of ourselves for a stranger we may never meet.
The target for 2025 was met. The covenant for 2026 must be kept.
GNA
Edited by Samuel Osei-Frempong
Mamle Ramani is the head of Communications and Public Relations at the National Blood Service