Sunyani: The Sunyani Teaching Hospital is currently facing a severe blood shortage crisis, as stated by Mr. Enoch Gyau, a biomedical scientist and the Unit Head of the hospital's blood bank. The shortage has been attributed to the hospital's recent upgrade, which has led to an increase in patient referrals from sister facilities, particularly those in rural communities. Mr. Gyau has called on the public to voluntarily donate blood to replenish the hospital's blood bank.
According to Ghana News Agency, Mr. Gyau made this appeal during an interview on the sidelines of blood donation exercises organized by the hospital in collaboration with the MTN Ghana Foundation. These exercises were held at the Sunyani Senior High and Twene Amanfo Technical and Senior High Schools. The initiative aligns with the Foundation's annual 'Save a Life blood donation' exercise, conducted every February 14, to support the National Blood Service and regional blood banks by providing students the opportunity to donate blood voluntarily.
Mr. Gyau emphasized the life-saving importance of blood donation, noting that blood collected has an expiration period of 35 days. He urged the public to donate blood regularly to meet the increasing demand from the hospital's growing clientele.
Mr. Kofi Owusu, the Bono Regional Manager of MTN Ghana, highlighted that, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), millions of lives are saved annually through blood transfusions. Despite this, many hospitals and blood banks in Ghana continue to face blood shortages. He expressed concern that Ghana's blood transfusion rates are below the WHO's recommended minimum of 10 units per 1,000 people, which is essential for meeting basic transfusion needs.
In response to the National Blood Services' call for action, the MTN Ghana Foundation launched the 'Save a Life project' in 2011. The project aims to encourage voluntary blood donation and has successfully collected over 29,000 units of blood over the years to help restock national and regional blood banks.
