Western Regional Blood Bank risks shortage
The Western Regional Blood Bank at the Effia Nkwanta Regional Hospital has warned of imminent shortage of blood if more units of blood are not voluntarily donated to the unit.
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Last year, the blood bank was able to mobilise only 4,000 units of blood, which was far below the 20,000 it needed for the year.
This year, there had not been any improvement and the blood stock for the region is at its minimum, the Deputy Chief Blood Donor Recruiter for the region, Mr Francis Blay-Cudjoe, told the Daily Graphic in an interview last Saturday.
Low blood stock
He said due to the low blood stock, the regional blood bank was unable to deliver on its mandate of supplying blood to all government district hospitals and private healthcare facilities in the region.
“Hospitals in places such as Sefwi Wiawso, Sefwi Akontonbra, Bia and Enchi have to look for their own sources of blood supply, since the Effia Nkwanta Blood Bank cannot supply them with blood as we are required to do,” he said.
He, however, noted that the government and private healthcare facilities within the Sekondi/Takoradi metropolis, Wassa East, Shama and Ahanta West districts got constant supply of blood as and when they requested for it.
He said inadequate staff strength and lack of logistics such as vehicles were among the major contributory factors for the low blood stock.
“There is also donor apathy and as a result, people do not want to voluntarily donate blood,” Mr Blay-Cudjoe said.
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He, therefore, called on the public, educational institutions and corporate and religious bodies to, as a matter of urgency, assist the blood bank to mobilise enough blood to shore up the stock.
Healthcare delivery
This, he said, would improve upon healthcare delivery in the region and the country as a whole.
As part of efforts to avert the impending shortage, a Takoradi-based radio station, Radio Maxx, the Takoradi International Company (TICO), an electricity generating company, and managers of the T2 thermal plant at the thermal plant complex at Aboadze in the Shama District organised a blood donation campaign which helped to stock the Effia Nkwanta blood bank with 219 units of blood.
The Managing Director of TICO, Mr Osafo Adjei, told the Daily Graphic in an interview that the blood donation campaign was aimed at “providing enough blood to save precious lives”.
The campaign has so far attracted corporate bodies and members of the public, including the renowned playwright, popularly known as Uncle Ebo Whyte, who travelled to Takoradi last Saturday to support the campaign.