By Caleb Kuleke
Ho, June 14, GNA – Dr Senanu Kwasi Djokoto, Acting Volta Regional Health Director has appealed to educational institutions to revive their interest in blood donations to health facilities to save lives.
He said educational institutions had been a reliable source of blood supply to health facilities, however, there had been a decline in their interest, hence, the appeal for them to reinvigorate their support.
Dr Djokoto, who was speaking to the Ghana News Agency in Ho to mark 2023 World Blood Donor Day further appealed to the public to donate blood to support the health facilities, stressing that each and every one had a role in healthcare services.
The World Health Assembly in 2005 designated June 14, as World Blood Donor Day and it’s being celebrated annually throughout the world to thank voluntary blood donors around the world for their gift of blood in supporting health facilities to save lives.
According to the World Health Organisation, “every single donation is a precious lifesaving gift and repeat donation is the key to building a safe and sustainable blood supply.
This year’s celebration is on the theme: “Give Blood, Give Plasma, Share Life, Share Often.”
Dr Djokoto lamented the decline in voluntary blood donations among the citizenry, which he said was due to misinformation in society that blood donors suffered a lot of health effects.
The Director disclosed that statistics at the facilities showed that most of the donations were family replacements, hence, the need to intensify awareness creation to encourage the citizens to donate to support the facilities.
He thanked people who over the years had donated blood, describing them as “life savers” as blood was crucial, especially in times of emergencies including accidents to support victims bleeding profusely.
Mr Phanuel Mordzifa, Volta Regional Blood Programme Officer, stationed at the Ho Teaching Hospital told GNA there was no substitute for blood, and no one could exclude himself or herself from blood use.
The Programme Officer expressed his profound gratitude to people who incessantly donated blood to support the facility to ensure effective and timely services to those who needed it.
He said though the facility currently had some units of blood it was not enough and therefore appealed to individuals and corporate bodies and organisations to come on board to donate.
Mr Mordzifa disclosed that negative blood group including -0, -A, -B and -AB were not common and that “you can go for 100 units of blood, if you are lucky before you can get one or two units of negative blood group.”
He said people with negative blood group constituted only six percent of the total population of the country, so “those negative blood group there is no way we will say we have enough.”
GNA