‘Donate blood to reduce shortage at hospitals’

The Head of the Blood Bank at the Sunyani Regional Hospital, Mr Abdul Ganiwu, has made a passionate appeal to the public to voluntarily and regularly donate blood to reduce blood shortage at the various hospitals and save lives.

Mr Ganiwu made the appeal during a blood donation exercise organised by Sky FM, a Sunyani-based radio station, in collaboration with Stanbic Bank, Pharmanova and 6-Star Pharmacy, to support the hospital to stock its blood bank.

More than 100 people took part in the blood donation exercise which was held at the forecourt of Cocoa House in Sunyani in the Bono Region.

A medical team from the Sunyani Regional Hospital conducted the exercise.

Shortfall

He said the Sunyani hospital transfused about 20 pints of blood each day, explaining that there was always a shortfall of blood at the facility that threatened the lives of patients.

“Patients die in hospitals due to lack of blood, if you come to the labour and the emergency wards, you will see how doctors and nurses desperately look for blood to save lives,” he said.

Mr Ganiwu said management of the hospital go to the communities to mobilise blood for the facility, explaining that because the hospital served as a referral centre, health facilities in the Bono East and the Ahafo regions rely on it for the supply of blood or other logistics.

Blood donation

Mr Ganiwu expressed concern about the reluctance of Ghanaians to donate blood, noting that blood donation exercises were always not encouraging as many people refuse to take part.

“This is the problem we have had over the years, even though stocking the blood banks is in the interest of the same public,” he said.

Many people, Mr Ganiwu added, only report to the facility to donate blood when their relatives needed it, and pointed out that it was not the best practice because blood was supposed to be ready for patients and not patients to wait for the blood.

For his part, the General Manger of the Sky FM, Mr Kwasi Agyei, said the exercise was undertaken annually to support the hospital to save lives and thanked the partner organisations for their support which made the exercise successful.