A blood Donor Organizer at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital Blood Bank, Bernard Agyei Nketia has attributed the shortage of blood at the blood banks in the country, especially at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital to the COVID-19 pandemic and other social and economic factors.
He notes that despite the fact that his outfit needs more blood to support patients who are in need of it, the COVID-19 pandemic contributed immensely to the reduction in the regular interactions the blood bank has with its donors.
In June this year, the National Blood Service disclosed that it is facing challenges with supply and blamed it on the decrease in voluntary donations.
It, therefore, pleaded with the public to help restock the Blood Bank, instead of waiting to donate blood only in cases of emergency.
However, Mr. Nketia revealed that the strategy his outfit has now adopted to restock the blood bank is to fall on organizations and institutions.
Mr. Nketia made this known to ATL FM NEWS on the sidelines of a National Blood Donation Exercise organized under the auspices of the National Insurance Commission in the Central Region.
“As a teaching hospital we always need blood to save lives and because of the COVID 19 pandemic and other issues, getting blood to support the sick has always been an issue. So, we always want to fall on the faith-based organizations, the institutions, the tertiary and the secondary schools just to support our course to mobilize more blood to support the hospital. We only hope and anticipate that they will open their doors,” he said
Meanwhile, the Area Manager, Central Region for the National Insurance Commission, Madam Nicholina Adumuah explains that her outfit’s response to an appeal by the National Blood Service to help restock the blood bank is what led the commission to decide on an annual blood donation exercise.
She notes that “one can never survive it when he/she has no blood hence our smallest way of helping.”
She encouraged all and sundry to ignore myths surrounding donating blood and rather make it a priority to save lives.
According to her “some people are of the view that you endanger yourself when you donate blood because you lose a lot of energy in doing so which is a myth. The blood bank uses this collected blood for a very legitimate assignment after making it go through a series of processes before usage and not a bad one as others have in mind, therefore I encourage all to devote and donate their blood to help save a life.”
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Source: Rosemond Asmah/ATLFMNEWS
