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Blood not for sale at hospitals
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
Ghana Tourism Authority is leading Ghana’s participation at ITB Berlin, which opened in Berlin with a vibrant national pavilion highlighting Ghana’s rich cultural heritage, tourism destinations and investment opportunities.
March 5 has been designated as Ghana Day, a special platform to promote Ghana’s languages, cuisine, Kente, festivals and business prospects to the global tourism community. The stand has already drawn strong interest with traditional arts and crafts displays, immersive multimedia presentations and popular Ghanaian snacks.
Seven private-sector players are exhibiting alongside government officials as part of efforts to deepen trade partnerships, expand market access, and attract investment across the hospitality, heritage tourism, ecotourism, and creative arts sectors.
Ahead of the official opening, the Ghana delegation also engaged young Ghanaian investors in Germany in collaboration with V Afrika-Verein and the Ghana Embassy, strengthening diaspora investment linkages and highlighting opportunities within the tourism value chain.
Ghana’s coordinated presence at ITB Berlin 2026 reinforces its strategy to position the country as the Gateway to Africa and a competitive destination for leisure travel and global investment.
The Member of Parliament for Nsawam Adoagyiri, Frank Annoh Dompreh, has expressed concern over delays in the release of the District Assemblies Common Fund, warning that the situation is stalling development across the country.
On his facebook page, he described as a matter of urgent national importance, the Minority Chief Whip pointed to what he sees as a growing crisis of unpaid contractors, abandoned projects, and halted infrastructure works in many districts.
He noted that several communities are grappling with half completed schools, unfinished health facilities, abandoned markets, deteriorating roads, and stalled sanitation projects.
According to him, many contractors who have executed projects for district assemblies have not been paid, forcing some construction firms to demobilise from sites while workers lose their jobs.
He stressed that the District Assemblies Common Fund is not a discretionary allocation but a constitutional requirement under Article 252 of the 1992 Constitution, intended to support development at the local level.
In his view, years of delayed releases and accumulated arrears have weakened district development financing and disrupted projects meant to improve living conditions in communities.
He further argued that some payments made in recent years were largely the settlement of old debts rather than funding for new or ongoing projects, a situation he believes has affected contractor confidence and local economic activity.
He described the issue as more than a budgetary challenge, characterising it as a development emergency and a governance concern.
He therefore urged the appropriate authorities to pay outstanding DACF arrears, settle contractors who have completed their work, and ensure that transfers to districts are automatic and predictable.
He maintained that decentralisation can only succeed when district assemblies receive adequate and timely funding to carry out development projects.
He emphasised that stalled projects directly affect ordinary citizens, since they rely on such infrastructure for education, healthcare, transportation, sanitation, and economic activities.
He called for renewed attention to grassroots development, insisting that national progress should not be concentrated only in major cities but extended to all communities.
By: Jacob Aggrey
