As part efforts to stock the Blood Bank at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital, the Directorate of Public Affairs, in collaboration with Global Wings Travel and Tours Limited has organised a blood donation exercise on campus.
The exercise which was also in partnership with the Directorate of Health Services, Cape Coast Teaching Hospital (CCTH), Students’ Representative Council (SRC) and ATL FM was patronised by several students who voluntarily donated blood.
Corporate Social Responsibility to the Health Sector
Speaking the programme, the Director of Operations of Global Wings Travel and Tours Limited, Mr. Fuseini Sugrinooma, said the exercise was the company’s maiden event to support the Health Sector through a blood donation exercise. “As a company, we see this as a Social Corporate Responsibility on our part. This is the time to give back to the society for what we have benefitted from them,” he explained. He added that the company has been working with the University Community for some time now by providing them with travel and tour services and, therefore, the exercise was to give back through the blood donation exercise.
Mr. Sugrinooma pointed out that “blood is special, it cannot be manufactured and there is the need to stock the blood banks of our health facilities with it”. He appealed to the general public to donate blood to save lives and also urged corporate organisations, NGOs and other government institutions to organise similar exercises to help stock the blood banks of health facilities in the country.
Importance of Stocking Blood Banks
Explaining the need for blood in hospitals, the Head of Laboratory Department, University Health Service, Mr. Samuel Amoah, noted that the high demand for blood from the University Hospital and other health facilities in Cape Coast and its environs meant that there was the need to stock the Blood Bank at CCTH. “We need blood for pregnant women, patients with acute anaemia and accident emergencies to sustain them,” he appealed.
Describing the current status of the University Hospital blood bank, he said that though there were few pints in stock, they needed more in order to serve as a back-up and to cater for emergencies. “Anyone who donates blood will be given a ‘Donor Card’ which gives him/her or a family member the opportunity to be given blood at the hospital when the need arises,” he added.
Appeal for Voluntary Donation of Blood
The Team Leader, Senior Blood Donor Organiser, Cape Teaching Hospital Blood Bank, Mr. Samuel Quarmyne, stated that “blood as a commodity cannot be reproduced by anyone except through voluntarily donating blood.” Considering the dependence of other health facilities on the Blood Bank at CCTH, he entreated the public to voluntarily donate blood to sustain help them provide this essential services to save lives stressing that “When you donate a pint of blood, you can save three babies or a person.” He advised the public to shun any misconceptions which were being propagated by some individuals about blood donation.
I donated to Save Life
A student donor, Susana Namale, said that it was a great opportunity for her to have contributed to the exercise to help save lives because she has always been hearing of shortages at the blood banks. She urged the public to get involved to improve the current status of blood banks at health facilities in the country.
At the end of the exercise, ninety-one (91) pints of blood were donated for the screening process to be used by CCTH and UCC Hospital.