The Eastern Regional Hospital in Koforidua continues to battle with acute shortage of pints of blood.
The acute shortage of blood at the facility began in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic but leaped on to 2021.
The hospital was confident that the reopening of Schools will help replenish the blood bank but that has not been achieved.
The staff of the hospital is therefore being forced to donate blood to save lives.
Recently, Nurses and Doctors at the facility had to donate blood to save four (4) clients including three (3) sickle cell children at the ICU who needed blood to survive.
The Medical Director of the Hospital, Dr. Arko Akoto Ampaw, and other staff has always been donating blood in critical situations.
“It was so critical. We weren’t having it at all. So by Department by Department, we started donating and I can say on record that I donated a pint of blood not too long ago in the campaign. So we call on all of you including the media, you can organize yourself and come so that we take the blood from you” the Medical Director said in a previous interaction with the media in Koforidua
Dr. Akoto Ampaw attributed the acute shortage of pints of blood in the facility to the Coronavirus pandemic which led to the closure of educational institutions particularly Second Cycle Schools which are major blood donors.
He regretted that, several efforts made to reach out to the public to donate blood have not yielded any positive response.
The dire blood shortage if not earnestly improved would endanger the lives of pregnant mothers and accident victims who need a blood transfusion to survive.
Ghana has failed to achieve the 100 percent voluntary blood donation status as required by the World Health Organisation (WHO) albeit increasing demand for blood transfusion.
Statistics from the WHO indicate that only 62 countries globally have almost achieved 100 percent of their national blood supplies from voluntary unpaid blood donations, with thirty-four others still dependent on family replacement blood donors.
The government of Ghana’s delay in passing the National Blood Service Bill, which seeks to provide the requisite legal framework to accelerate progress towards 100 percent voluntary blood donation, is compounding the situation in the country.
Source: Mybrytfmonline.com/Obed Ansah
