A participant undergoing medical screening

The Deputy in-charge of the Lab­oratory Unit of the St Joseph Hospital in Koforidua, Selina Quashie, has urged the public to ig­nore speculations that blood was for sale in hospitals in the country.

According to Madam Quarshie,a Medical Laboratory Scientist, such speculations deterred people from donating to the blood banks, hence the blood shortages in the hospitals which has led to the death of many, especially pregnant women and acci­dent victims.

She said what was usually paid by relations or friends of recipients were processing fees, adding that the notion was untrue and appealed to the public, especially corporate institutions to debunk such reports and donate to help save lives in the hospitals.

Madam Quashie made these statements during a blood donation exercise organised by the Koforidua Technical University and the St Jo­seph Hospital to encourage workers, lecturers and students to donate blood to the hospital in the munici­pality.

She disclosed that some tribes believed donating blood would cause men to lose their manhood or that the blood were sold to ‘Sakawa’, adding that some parents of stu­dents in the second cycle institu­tions advise their children not to donate because of the notion.

“As we speak, we only have just 10 pints of blood, five positives, ‘O’ positives, three ‘B’ positives and two ‘A’ positives. We don’t have O negatives, so if an emergency happens it will be difficult to save lives,” she said,adding that it was an unfortunate situation.

Madam Quashie said blood was an essential commodity that could not be bought at the market or the pharmacy and stated that there was the need for people to donate to save lives.

She stated that donating blood gave the public the opportunity to know their health status, adding that it was necessary to engage in the exercise to enable a person to know and receive help if necessary.

The Vice Chancellor of the Ko­foridua Technical University, Profes­sor David Kofi Essumang called on all tertiary institutions in the country to organise blood donation exercises to support the hospital to have enough blood for their operations, adding that the country’s maternal mor­tality was high due to inadequate blood at the blood banks in hospitals across the country.

“It is unacceptable that women who have gone to deliver or victims of accidents who required blood will die as a result of inadequate blood.

He said the exercise was therefore necessary to enable the university to donate to stock the hospital’s blood bank with enough blood and revealed that management of KTU would organise the exercise annual­ly to support the hospital.

“We make blood available to the hospital facilities so that when we are in need of blood, we will also fall on them to support us,” he said and stated that the universities played a major role in the health delivery system in the country and hence should support.

 From Ama Tekyiwaa Ampadu Agyeman, Koforidua