The MTN Ghana Foundation, a corporate social responsibility arm of MTN Ghana is calling on Ghanaians to make it a habit to donate blood on a daily basis to help save a life.
The telecom giant is in collaboration with the National Blood Service and some health facilities, including the 37th Military Hospital, Greater Accra Regional Hospital and others, held a blood donation campaign dubbed “Save a Life.”
The campaign started in 2011 and is currently in its 10th edition after being halted in 2020 due to the outbreak of the coronavirus.
Speaking at the official opening section at the MTN House in Accra, Mrs. Rhoderlyn Entsua-Mensah, Manager for Sustainability and Social Impact for the MTN Foundation, noted that the initiative is in line with their zeal to help fill blood banks in the country.
She noted that the programme has so far been successful, thanks to their dedicated stakeholders as well as donors, whom she described as “good Samaritans.”
According to her, “people are encouraged to come in their numbers to donate and help save lives and prevent issues like maternal mortality.”
Madam Entsua-Mensah disclosed that the campaign has, since its inception in 2011, generated over 20,000 blood units, with the last one, which was in 2020 alone, producing 6,036 blood units.
The donors, she said, will be awarded certificates or donor cards that will be more useful to them anytime they or their relatives are in critical condition and need to be given blood.
“We entreat the general public to come out in their numbers and donate, as you may never know whose life you may be saving, be it your own, that of a relative, a friend, or anyone in a critical condition,” reiterates Mrs. Rhoderlyn Entsua-Mensah.
On her part, Dr. Shirley Owusu-Ofori, the CEO of the National Blood Service, courting the attention of Ghanaians about the need to value voluntary blood donation, cited two encouraging stories.
Dr. Owusu-Ofori began with the story of a 14-year-old foreign-based boy whose life was saved at a hospital through the blood unit donated by donors and, as such, decided to also reciprocate the kindness by donating his blood on a regular basis when he turns 18.
The story continues as the boy grows and truly honours his promise of donating blood to help fill blood banks in his country and even donates his plasma to some newly born babies and their mothers, noting that there is a need for beneficiaries to also give back to the way they were saved.
Reiterating the need for everyone to be involved in blood donation, the NBS CEO again recounted how a 35-year-old queen mother was saved from the blinks of death at the 37th Military Hospital thanks to blood donations.
Speaking on the sidelines, the blood services’ CEO addressed the notion held by many people that their blood may be sold to wealthy men to be used for rituals.
She emphasised that the service, and for that matter, all the medical facilities, are bound by law and by the ethics of their profession and will always seek to protect the blood they get from donation for the sole purpose of saving the lives of people in critical medical conditions.
“We have a vein-to-value blood value system. We are able to track every unit from the vein of the donor to the vein of the recipient. So it’s not possible for a blood service to collect your blood and partner with any person for any dubious or spiritual means,” she clarified.
Dr. Shirley called on Ghanaians to debunk such rumours and rather be part of the life-saving ambassadors through voluntary and non-remunerated blood donation.
The “Save a Life Blood Donation Campaign,” is currently underway in all 16 regional capitals under the auspices of the MTN Ghana Foundation and partners.
Source: Modern Ghana