Insurance firms in Ghana to mobilize support for dwindling blood banks

In the wake of the dwindling number of pints of blood stocked in the country’s hospitals and high cases of blood insufficiency, the National Insurance Commission (NIC) is collaborating with the various bodies in Ghana’s insurance industry to restock blood banks across the country on September 27, 2023.

The move aims to save the lives of pregnant women in labour, children, and accident victims among several others who may, at one point or the other, need blood to survive.

In a statement issued by the insurance regulator, the blood donation exercise has become imperative with a call on the insurance industry to lend a helping hand in restocking the nation’s blood bank.

“The insurance industry does not work in isolation from the people they are expected to insure either by way of their lives or by the assets that are insured,” the statement read.

“This gesture by the Insurance industry followed a request to the NIC by the National Blood Service (NBS) to the industry in 2021 to help re-stock the country’s blood banks which were fast running out of stock. As part of the Industry’s Corporate Social Responsibility, the entire insurance industry kick-started this annual campaign and donated 801 units of blood in 2021. The numbers increased exponentially in 2022 with a record 2,015,” it added.

The NIC further added that the industry is in the process of carrying out the blood donation exercise again across the country, with higher expectations for this year.

Director of the Greater Accra Regional Hospital at Ridge, Dr. Emmanuel K. Srofenyoh will deliver the keynote speech at the 2023 Blood Donation Campaign launch on Wednesday, September 27, 2023, at the Head Office of the NIC in Accra.

The theme for this year’s campaign is; ‘Donate blood; save a life – as you do it for someone, you do it for yourself’.

Meanwhile, Chief Executive Officers of Insurance entities will be the first to donate blood to support the Oncology Unit of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in commemoration of Childhood Cancer Month (September).

NOQ