Six Dioceses of the Catholic Church in Ghana have donated 2,314 units of blood to help stock 16 blood banks across the country.
The dioceses who participated in the Campaign include Accra, Techiman, Navrongo-Bolgatanga, Sunyani, Cape Coast and Tamale with Accra and Techiman contributing more than 80 per cent of the nationwide total.
This was contained in a statement issued in Accra by Mr Steven Addai, the Public Relations Officer of the National Blood Service and copied to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on Monday.
The donation was in response to frightening statistics indicating that one out of three Ghanaians needed blood to manage their health conditions at the various health institutions countrywide.
The statement said the mass blood donation exercise according to the leadership of the church, was the churches’ gift to the nation, just as Christ died for mankind.
The statement quoted Maame Kwaaba Stephens, the Coordinator of the event, and also the Brands Ambassador for Voluntary Blood donation, who said that “the exercise was necessary as Ghana is in dire need of blood to be able to meet the needed requirement of 300,000 units.
The statement said in 2018, out of the required figure 60,000 units of blood received from voluntary unpaid donors, adding that, “Sometimes Surgeries have had to be postponed due to lack of blood”.
It said the entire Catholic population decides to donate blood annually, making half of the problem of blood shortages to be will be taken care of.
The campaign, however, was championed by the National Catholic Blood Donation Campaign Team on the theme: “Family of God: Give Blood So Others May Live”.
According to the statement the Catholic Blood drive, has targeted to collect 10,000 pints in 2020.
It said the 2020 National Campaign would soon be launched and replicated at the provincial levels to conscientise Catholics on the need to support the National Blood Service.
The campaign would be held across the 16 regions of Ghana and span over 11 months – January through November 2020.
It noted that as part of arrangements with the leadership, each Catholic Church would be encouraged to hold at least two blood donation exercises within the year to serve as motivation to others.
Blood is an essential commodity used to manage clinical conditions of children and mothers who die during childbirth as a result of acute blood loss. Cancer patients, accident victims, and other patients who need blood transfusion to survive.
