The National Blood Service has honoured MamaYe Ghana for contributing to raising the consciousness of Ghanaians on the need to donate blood to save mothers, babies and everyone else who needs it. Its National Director, Dr. Justina K. Ansah, expressed appreciation to organisations like MamaYe Ghana who have taken up the challenge to persuade more Ghanaians to donate blood.
The National Blood Service, Ghana (Blood Bank), has honoured MamaYe Ghana for contributing to raising the consciousness of Ghanaians on the need to donate blood to save mothers, babies and everyone else who needs it.National Director of the Service, Dr. Justina K. Ansah, at a ceremony in Accra to celebrate voluntary blood donors in Senior High Schools in the Greater Accra Region expressed appreciation to organisations like MamaYe Ghana who have taken up the challenge to persuade more Ghanaians to donate blood.Presenting a plaque to MamaYe Ghana, Dr. Ansah said blood is essential to healthcare delivery and admonished all present to continuously donate to ensure that the Blood Bank does not run dry. She revealed that one of the ways to ensure that Ghana meets its target of 250,000 pints of blood per annum is to urge stakeholders to champion blood drives across the country, noting if one percent of the population donates blood regularly, there will be enough for patients across the country.“I sincerely thank all blood donors for giving the gift that matters most”, she said.On her part, Mrs. Elizabeth Adase, a member of the MamaYe Advisory Committee, shared how a timely blood transfusion snatched her from the jaws of death after severe bleeding during pregnancy.She advised the student to make voluntary blood donation an essential part of their lives and called on government to provide an air ambulance to key hospitals to help in the distribution of blood when it is needed most.Dr. Nafissah Zakariah, who represented the Minister of Health Madam Sherry Ayittey, thanked the donors for their contribution to saving lives saying: “numerous lives have been saved through the generosity of a few who felt that they needed to save life”.She called on corporate organisations to make blood drives a significant aspect of their corporate social responsibilities. In all, four schools were awarded for donating the most blood. Ghanata SHS, Ashaiman SHS, Tema Technical Institute and the Wesley Grammar SHS won the first, second, third and fourth prizes respectively.