The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) and the Blood Bank of the Ho Teaching Hospital in conjunction with the Tsito Senior High School (SHS) has organized a blood donation exercise at Tsito, in the Ho West District of the Volta region.

A total of 89 units of blood out of 124 people screened, representing 59 per cent of the target set for the exercise was realised.

Mr Gorden Akurugu, Volta Regional Director of FDA said the blood donation exercise was part of its corporate social responsibility anchored on the entity's rebranding efforts to bring FDA closer to the people.

He said FDA chose this exercise nationwide because the commodity could not be bought from an open market.

Mr Akurugu said with its new status of "Your well-being, Our Priority," the Authority apart from keeping its mandate on regulation of drugs, it was contributing directly to the maintenance and development of other sectors of the country.

He entreated corporate institutions and other SHSs to emulate the example of Tsito SHS.

Mr Vincent K Fekpe, Volta Regional Blood Organiser said the blood bank continued to witness low stock and woefully boast of just 20-30 units of blood on the average, when ideally, a minimum standby of between 100-200 units was needed.

He said a monthly average of between 200-300 units for supplies to all hospitals in the region was not being met, let alone an actual demand of 400-500 units.

The Regional Blood Organizer said nine blood donation sections had been carried out between January-June, this year, most of it from SHSs, with an average of 58 units.

Mr Fekpe debunked the assertion that blood was for sale in hospitals but explained that any such charges were for services and urged Ghanaians to embrace blood donation culture to save lives in need of the commodity.

Ms Pearl Amedzake, Master Salawu Majid, all two-timer student donors of the Tsito SHS and a first-timer, Ms Edith Dogli, of the same School, said the exercise may look scary but practically easy to undergo stating their motive was to save lives.

Ms Getrude Akornor, a staff of FDA said apart from the initial needle prick pain at the fore-arm, there was nothing to fear about and pledged to continue to donate blood as long as her health would allow.