Disturbing reports from the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) in the Ashanti Region indicates that the blood bank there has virtually run out due to the outbreak of Covid-19 coronavirus in Ghana.
Hospital authorities say the blood has run out not because they were used for Covid-19 patients, but because the social distancing and partial lockdown order has made it impossible for the hospital to organise mass blood donation exercise.
The Head of Transfusion Medicine at the hospital, Dr. Shirley Owusu-Ofori told Accra-based Citi FM that the global pandemic has negatively affected their blood stocks.
According to Dr. Owusu-Ofori the National Blood Bank has been forced to directly contact known blood donors for blood.
“…. Indeed we are not in normal times as a blood service as well. We rely on the benevolence of donors who have given before to continue to walk in with our passes to give blood to save lives,” she said.
“We even rely more on donors who have never given blood before that this is a good time to show solidarity and to respond to our civic call. The measures of safety are in place and will ensure the safety of every donor who walks into a blood centre to give blood.”