Ghana is yet to meet its blood donation requirements which is just one per cent representing 300,000 of its population, in spite of series of intense advocacy and awareness campaigns.
The Brand Ambassador for the National Blood Service Ghana, Ms Maame Kwaaba Stephens, who stated this in an interview with the Daily Graphic at a blood awareness walk last Saturday, said: “I think that the awareness is coming up quite slowly as compared to previous years where people did not really know about it but we still need to spark the conversation and create an atmosphere where people can ask the relevant questions.”
According to her, although blood donation awareness was picking up in other regions of the country, there is the need for more advocacy campaigns adding that “there is nothing like too much awareness we just need to keep drumming it because even those who know about it, we need to keep on reminding them.”
The walk
The walk is also an initiative which was introduced by Ms Stephens on her 40th birthday two years ago which falls on the month of March.
Dubbed: “The March Campaign,” the walk was jointly organised by Ms Stephens and the National Blood Service Ghana.
The walk was also a platform to emphasise the need for people to continue donating blood, in commemoration of her birthday.
The occasion targeted both current and potential donors while projecting blood donation in a positive light as part of the walk.
The highly patronised walk, which started from the Ayi Mensah Police Station in Accra, to Peduase in Aburi, saw hundreds of corporate institutions, families, schools and habitual walkers on that route participating in branded T-Shirts with various campaign messages on them.
Some of the messages read: “I’m a proud voluntary donor”; “Be there for someone else”; “Give blood, save life”; “Vegetarians can donate blood”; “One pint of blood can help save up to 3 lives”; “You can safely give blood once every 4 months”, among others.
The campaign was also characterised by series of activities, including outdoor games such as “Oware” and “Ludo” as individuals and students from the Ghanata Senior High School also joined the team at Peduase to donate blood.
Ms Stephens explained that the initiative was designed to associate blood donation with happy moments, anniversaries as well as bringing people together to donate and share positive experiences with blood donation.
The walk was also supported by the Lele Group and the Kaysens Group of companies.
The Chief Executive Officer of the National Blood Service, Ghana, Dr Justina Ansah, also emphasised the need to create more awareness and sensitise people to donate blood to help stock the blood bank.
Long standing donors
Two long standing blood donors, Ms Mercy Quagraine ,66, and Mr Joshua Alorgbey, 42, who participated in the walk also advocated the need for voluntary donors to continuously participate in donating blood for at least three times in a year.
Speaking to the Daily Graphic, Ms Quagraine, who has donated 43 times to the National Blood Service, explained that she had never had any health complications ever since she started donating blood.
She added that although she was no longer donating because of her age, she spent most of her time advocating the need to donate blood in her community.
For his part, Mr Alorgbey, who also donated 35 times, said “I am happy when my blood gives people another chance at life.”
He recounted an instance where he donated to a relative who had lost blood after surgery and he had to intervene together with a few of his colleagues.
“The more you help people with your blood, the more you get their problems solved,” he added.
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