Health officials urge expansion of blood collection capacity at Ashaiman Hospital
Health authorities have called for the expansion of blood collection and transfusion services at the Ashaiman Municipal Hospital and its neighbouring district health facilities to meet rising demand and improve access to life-saving blood products across multiple districts in the Greater Accra Region.
The call was made during the Greater Accra Regional launch of the World Blood Donor Day at Ashaiman last Monday on the theme, "One Drop of Humanity. Give Blood. Save Lives."
World Blood Donor Day, is observed annually on June 14 to honour voluntary, unpaid blood donors whose selfless contributions save lives every day.
The District Director of Health Services for Kpone Katamanso, Dr Esther Priscilla Biama Danquah, who also serves as Greater Accra Region Zone Two Coordinator for Maternal and Perinatal Health and was the guest speaker for the event, urged regulatory and accrediting bodies to allow Ashaiman Municipal Hospital to conduct community-based blood donation exercises beyond its facility.
She explained that although the Ashaiman Municipal Hospital served a wide catchment area, including Kpone-Katamanso, Ada East, Ada West, Ningo-Prampram and surrounding districts, it was currently restricted to collecting blood only within its premises.
She explained that this restriction significantly limited the availability of blood, especially during emergencies.
“Potential donors from communities such as Ningo-Prampram and Kpone-Katamanso must travel long distances to Ashaiman to donate, and this reduces participation and affects supply,” she said.
Dr Danquah stressed that young people remained central to strengthening Ghana’s blood donation system, urging them to become regular voluntary donors rather than donating only during crises.
She emphasised that a single unit of blood could save up to three lives, making donating one of the most powerful acts of humanity.
She further highlighted the growing demand for blood due to emergency surgeries, maternal complications, road traffic accidents, cancer treatments, and the management of sickle cell disease.
The Greater Accra Regional Deputy Director of Public Health, Dr Farida Abdulai, said many patients, including mothers experiencing childbirth complications and children suffering from severe anaemia, depended on blood transfusions to survive.
She said that while the need for blood was universal, the number of voluntary blood donors remained critically low.
The Ashaiman Municipal Director of Health Services, Dr Sophia Quist, said the municipality would leverage community outreach programmes, including the "Ashaiman Rising in Good Health" initiative, to intensify blood donation campaigns.
The Medical Superintendent of Ashaiman Municipal Hospital, Dr Mavis Amoako, also expressed concern about misinformation and myths surrounding blood donation, stressing that donated blood was used solely to save lives and not for rituals.
The Founder of Blood Drive Ghana and a voluntary blood donor, Kwame Adu-Appeah, said his advocacy for regular voluntary blood donation was based on his mother's experience with cancer treatment and encouraged healthy adults to donate consistently.
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