Ashigbey launches Blood Foundation of Ghana
The Managing Director of the Graphic Communications Group Limited (GCGL), Mr Kenneth Ashigbey, has launched the Blood Foundation of Ghana (BFG), with a call on Ghanaians to contribute their quota to make the BFG functional.
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According to him, it was unacceptable for a country such as Ghana, which prides itself as a middle-income country, to lose its citizens as a result of insufficient blood at the National Blood Bank.
Speaking at the launch in Accra yesterday, Mr Ashigbey said it was time for Ghanaians, especially the corporate sector, to join the campaign to save lives by providing both the financial and the human resource support to the National Blood Service (NBS).
The BFG is to provide support towards attaining 100 per cent of the country’s blood collection from voluntary non-remunerated blood donors (VNRBDs).
GCGL pledges
Mr Ashigbey said as part of its corporate social responsibility, the GCGL would provide GHc60,000 worth of advertisement to support the foundation, adding that the company intended to also use other means to generate support for the BFG.
“We will also set aside one day in the year to donate blood at the various offices of the GCGL in our bid to assist the foundation and the NBS to empower them to work efficiently,” he said.
Mr Ashigbey called on the media, as part of their contribution to support the BFG, to dedicate a portion of their airtime or spaces to garner assistance for the NBS, adding, “One could never tell when he or she will need blood to save a life.”
National Blood Service
In her welcome address, the Director of the NBS, Dr Justina Kordai Ansah, explained that blood transfusion was an indispensable component of health care, adding that it contributed to saving lives in both routine and emergency situations.
“In Ghana, only 30 per cent of the blood donated is from VNRBD. Regular voluntary blood donation is the only foundation for a sustainable supply of adequate safe blood and blood products. The rest (seven out of 10) are from family replacement donors (FRD), which is often out of pocket payment,” she said.
According to Dr Ansah, it was the challenges that confronted the activities of the NBS that led to the establishment of the foundation and expressed the hope that the blood situation in Ghana would improve.
She urged all Ghanaians to support and make the BFG more functional.
