The Volta Regional Blood Bank is constantly running dry due to inadequate donors and inconsistent blood donation by the public, the Deputy Blood Donor Organiser, Vincent Fekpe, has said.
According to him, blood is very essential in ensuring quality health care delivery, especially in critical care, and key to saving lives, however, the stock of the regional blood bank is nothing to write home about.
To this end, he has appealed to the public, groups, and organisations to come to the aid of the Regional Blood located at the Ho Teaching Hospital by either donating blood or organizing blood donation programs to restock the facility.
Mr. Fekpe appealed when the 66 Artillery Regiment led by the Commanding Officer, Lt. Col. Edward Sarpong Appiah, donated blood to the unit to mark the 62nd Republic Day.
He said the Regional Blood Bank should have more than enough to meet requests from other hospitals and have at least 80 units of reserved blood to respond to emergencies, however, most often, the bank falls short of this threshold.
This he said, informed the Regiment’s decision to donate blood as part of its Corporate Social Investment in the health sector. He hoped that the gesture would further strengthen the relationship between the security service and civilians.
“As a major referral centre for the seven Medical Reception Service and the Region as a whole, the Regiment deem it appropriate to always support the Ho Teaching Hospital.”
He said blood donated by the personnel would be helping their relatives and friends who might need blood in emergencies and also support the Hospital’s blood bank to restock its dwindling blood reserves.
Mr. Fekpe described the gesture by the Military as timeous and critical because the number of patients that patronize the services of the Teaching Hospital constantly runs the blood bank dry.
A phenomenon that could lead to severe disaster and fatalities. He, therefore, appealed to the public to constantly volunteer to donate blood as no one knows when he or she or her relation will need blood to stay alive. He further appealed to organised groups and organisations to make blood donation a key feature in their activities.
From Fred Duodu, Ho (k.duodu@gmail.com)