Blood supply at the Volta Regional Hospital is woefully inadequate to cater for the growing demand for blood at the hospital, Regional Organiser of Blood Bank, Vincent Fekpe, has disclosed.
According to him, the situation is not any different in other referral hospitals in the various districts and others which at times depend on the regional hospital for blood supply. The situation is forcing the Ho Municipal and other hospitals in the region that undertake blood transfusion to refer patients to the regional hospital when blood is needed for treatment.
Mr Fekpe revealed this in Ho during a blood donation exercise organised by the Rotary Club of Accra-Ring Road Central, in partnership with the Rotary Club of Ho and the National Blood Service. It was under the theme: ‘Give Blood, Save A Life’.
The exercise is expected to raise not less than 250 units of blood which would be distributed to hospitals in the Ho Municipality that do blood transfusion. Participants were drawn from some second cycle schools in the municipality and the public as well.
Mr Fekpe pointed out that the need for blood at the hospitals keeps increasing all the time and it, therefore, behoves the general public to donate blood frequently.
“The need for blood can happen at any time and nobody has to wait for an issue of blood to arise before they come to donate.
Blood is needed all the time and the serious thing is that there are different types of groups, so if we don’t collect blood every day or regularly, we will not get blood for some people,” he added.
Service Projects Director for Rotary Club of Ho, Joseph Dzamesi, said the shortage of blood at the blood banks across the country should be of concern to all, adding that the exercise is part of the club’s objective of serving humanity.
Maame Kwaaba Stephens, Service Projects Director of Rotary Club of Accra Ring Road Central, said the exercise which had already taken place in seven other regions is expected cover all the 10 regions in the country.
She said in all, about 2,000 units of blood are expected to be raised nationwide to stock blood banks in the country.
At the end of the exercise, about 270 units of blood were raised.
From Gibril Abdul Razak, Ho