The 24th National Blood Donor Day was yesterday commemorated in Accra with a renewed call for more voluntary blood donations in the country.

Increased blood donations would help address shortfalls in national blood supply to save lives and also meet the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations. 

The event, which was on the theme: “24 Years of celebrating giving in Ghana,” was attended by blood donors, government officials, health practitioners, representatives of CSOs and the general public.

The Chief Executive Officer of the National Blood Service, Dr Shirley Owusu-Ofori, who made the call, urged citizens to embrace blood donation as a collective responsibility.

She said that voluntary donation was the surest way to effectively address shortfalls in blood supply in the country.

Although Dr Owusu-Ofori acknowledged that blood collections in 2023 had increased to over 180,000 units, the demand for blood still exceeded supply. 

Target

A representative of the Ministry of Health, Dr Joycelyn Azeez, said the nation needed 330,000 units of blood annually to cater for its population of 33 million.

She said the country had so far achieved only 40-50 per cent of the target, with unpaid voluntary donations contributing less than half.

"We are hoping that today's activity would encourage as many people as possible to donate so that we can improve this narrative," she stated.

Dr Azeez further reaffirmed government's support for the National Blood Service to make blood more accessible nationwide.

She said the government was taking steps to establish regional blood centres across the country's 16 regions to ensure citizens donated blood without logistical barriers. 
 

Corporate Social Responsibility 

Florence Oboshie Sai-Cofie, who represented the Office of the Chief of Staff, urged schools, faith-based organisations and corporate entities to incorporate blood donation exercises into their activities.

She also encouraged institutions to raise awareness of the importance of voluntary blood donation.  

Mrs Sai-Cofie highlighted the role of Zipline drone technology in delivering blood to remote areas, a service that had  international commendation.

"Thanks to this initiative, more lives have been saved as even the most remote locations are able to get needed medical supplies," she said.  

Mrs Sai-Cofie encouraged the youth to engage in blood donation exercises, since they were the main driving force of any successful initiative.

Awards were presented to individuals and institutions that had supported the blood donation drive in the past year.