Save lives; Give a unit of blood for the benefit of others
The National Blood Service Ghana (NBSG) exists to mobilise blood from voluntary blood donors, process that blood into safe and usable components which are then distributed to hospital blood banks around the country. Since blood cannot be manufactured in a laboratory or a factory, it means that without a sufficient number of men and women volunteering as blood donors so that others might live, our country will grapple with the reality of unnecessary deaths.
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It is for this reason that on the occasion of World Blood Donor Day, which falls on June 14 every year, the NBSG salutes and celebrates the thousands of people who volunteer to give a unit of blood for the benefit of others.
Awareness creation
The day is celebrated to create awareness of the need for safe blood and blood products and to thank voluntary blood donors for their life-saving gifts of blood.
The focus this year seeks to draw attention to the roles voluntary blood donation play in encouraging people to care for one another and promote community cohesion.
There are those who throng mass blood donation campaigns, championed by partner media houses to roll up their sleeves; (donate blood), others band together as work colleagues, student unions, church congregations, communities, old students associations, keep-fit clubs and many others and invite the National Blood Service staff to collect life-saving blood units; again, there are other individuals who walk into a blood centre or a hospital, offering to give a unit of their blood to anyone who might need it.
There are many children, women and men who are alive today mainly because somebody they have never met “connected” to them through a blood donation.
But while we thank voluntary blood donors, we are reminded also that in many parts of the country, people seeking health care are faced with empty blood bank fridges. One of the main reasons for this is that not nearly enough people, who could make a difference, actually do come forward to give blood regularly and voluntarily.
Voluntary donors
In 2015, only 30 per cent of blood units around Ghana came from voluntary donors. Most blood came through family and friends (“replacement donors”) who gave blood only because someone known to them required a transfusion. It is the goal of the World Health Organisation (WHO) that by the year 2020, all countries practising blood transfusion therapy must obtain all their blood supplies from voluntary blood donors.
Currently, only 62 countries in the world are close to the 100 per cent supply from voluntary sources. Forty countries today are still dependent on family replacement donors and commercial donors.
In Ghana, a person can give blood safely every four months or three times a year. Many of us have not had a close relative or colleague who needed a blood transfusion, certainly not more than once a year. Therefore, if those of us healthy enough to donate blood wait for a relative or friend to require blood before we go to give blood, then our society is confronted with the unhappy situation of blood shortages being the norm rather than the exception.
Anyone can have an emergency. No one counts on being in a bad traffic accident, their child suddenly drained of blood by a vicious bout of malaria or the anticipation of childbirth horribly turned into a battle to control severe bleeding. But if blood is ready and waiting when that emergency transfusion is needed, especially with little time to summon relatives, how many more needless deaths would be saved!
Last year, on June 3, Ghana witnessed an unprecedented tragedy which claimed 152 lives with several others injured. Thanks to the Minister of Health, Mr Alex Segbefia, who rallied Ghanaians in their numbers to donate blood for those who had survived the fire and flood disaster and were at the time fighting for their lives.
Reflection
Indeed, the theme for this year’s World Blood Donor Day, “Blood Connects Us All”, is especially significant for us in Ghana because while reflecting on that unspeakable tragedy, we are also thankful that some did survive because people were touched enough to connect with their fellow citizens through the simple and safe act of a blood donation.
Unfortunately, there are individuals and families all over the country who have to deal with tragedies on a smaller scale—but no less horrific—all the time. One of the main reasons why the number of women dying from complications of pregnancy or the number of children dying before the fifth birthday remains unacceptably high in Ghana is that not enough blood is available when it was needed. Every single day, an estimated 1,260 units of blood are required for transfusion in hospitals around Ghana. So there is always someone who needs blood. And , therefore, there is a constant need for you and I to donate blood and to give blood regularly.
Blood connects us all because one never knows whose life their blood will save. It could be anyone! Let us join hands to help one another. The National Blood Service Ghana looks forward to the day when any person who needs a blood transfusion in Ghana can expect to be readily helped without being burdened to ‘go and find a relative’ because of a shortage.
That day hastens nearer with the rising number of voluntary donors as the service continues to raise awareness of the need and increase avenues for blood donation. We at the National Blood Service, Ghana, congratulate all voluntary blood donors on your generosity and commitment to make blood available to save lives.“Let Blood Connect Us All” and let’s share life as we give blood at regular intervals.
If you would like to get in touch with the Blood Service, please call, text or whatsapp our hotline 0277 50 10 10 or 0244561782
The writer is the Communications & Public Relations Officer, National Blood Service, Ghana. -Email: [email protected]
