KATH cries for more blood

The Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in Kumasi needs 70 units of blood daily for its operations but collects 35 averagely – a deficit of 50 percent, Principal Blood Donor Organiser of the Blood Transfusion Medicine Unit of KATH, Kwame Assenso, has stated.

He said the situation normally puts KATH in a distress position that occasionally leads to a spurt of demand by desperate relatives of patients in need.

Speaking to DAILY GUIDE after presenting a certificate of honour to MTN officials in Kumasi in recognition of the telecommunication company’s contribution to blood donation exercise, Mr Assenso disclosed that the shortfall was a result of a drop in fresh volunteers over the years.

Blood is in short supply in Ghana despite that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has stipulated that every country needs at least one percent reserve.

According to him, there is the need for a campaign to call for new blood donors in order for the National Blood Service to achieve its maximum stock level since the coming forward of fewer volunteers is a concern to them.

He believed one of the main reasons was the increasing pressure on school authorities from the parent-teacher associations not to allow their children submit to the blood donation exercises at various campuses.

“We simply can’t ignore the fact that there has been a stark reduction in the number of new donors coming forward and this seems to be the trend seen across the country,” the blood donor organiser emphasized.

Mr Assenso indicated that the nation needed new donors to make sure the current situation did not become critical.

Blood Not For Sale

He debunked claims that blood donated by volunteers is sold out to desperate patients at exorbitant prices.

“You can’t sell blood; it’s priceless but what patients are made to pay is part of the cost of screening the bloods collected to ensure safety,” he explained and added that patients do not pay for the blood.

James Basintale, General Manger for the MTN Northern Business District, who received the certificate on behalf of the company, expressed the company’s appreciation for the honour done it.

“We thought we were contributing our quota as a business entity to help society, and did not know we were actually saving lives. Having had this recognition will go a long way,” he noted.

According to Mr Basintale, the company would continue to do its best in saving lives of humans who are the core of their business.