‘Prioritise Blood Service Activities’

Processed blood ready to be taken to a patient in need of blood

The Ministry of Health (MoH) has been urged to prioritise the activities of the blood service in order to ensure sustained and efficient services are offered to citizens.

Prof. Ivy Adwoa Efiefi Ekem, Dean of Medical Sciences, University of Cape Coast (UCC), who made the call, said, “The blood service requires sound infrastructure to make it successful and avoid a crisis.”

She explained that measures include putting the right system and structures in place, including effective information technology, appropriate buildings, vehicles, financial fluidity and quality systems for all processes.

She further stated that an effective blood service, recruiting voluntary unpaid donors, needs to work in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, the Ghana Health Service, Christian Health Association of Ghana, Red Cross, institutions of learning, the media, corporate institutions, the Ministries of Women and Children, Roads and Highways, the general populace and the National Ambulance Service (NAS).

These collaborations, she opined, must come with mutual understanding and respect.

She was speaking as the guest of honour at the opening of the 3rd ECOWAS Regional Conference of the Africa Society for Blood Transfusion (AfSBT) in Accra.

The two-day conference is under the theme: ‘Voluntary Unpaid Blood Donation – Requirement For Quality Health System’.

Prof. Ekem called for regular dialogue with funders to ensure that regulations would be enforced and also have an independent body with legal backing.

This, she said, would ensure that members in the sub-region apply the same standards in donor recruitment and retention, testing and storage, use of blood and blood products and above all, being equipped to do so.

Prof. Philip Olatunji, Vice President of AfSBT, urged participants to be open-minded to share ideas and also learn from one another during the conference, so together the region can enhance its blood services.

Prof. Aba Omotunde Sagoe, a consultant haematologist, said the donors should be educated against their fears of blood donation and be made to appreciate the benefits such as free health checks, rejuvenation of blood and saving other’s lives.

Chairperson of the Local Organising Committee (LOC), Mavis Okyere, who is also the Head of Quality at (NAB), stated that it is expected that at the end of the meeting, participants from member countries within the ECOWAS region will foster unity to become stronger, vibrant and interactive.

Mrs. Okyere said she believes when the regions become stronger, the AfSBT will become very active in promoting effective blood transfusion services.

 By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri

 

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