The Minister for Information, Honourable Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has led 100 persons including journalists in the Ministry’s press pool to voluntarily donate blood to compliment stocks at the National Blood Service.
At the close of the exercise at the Information Ministry Wednesday July 21, the National Blood Service had secured 78 pints of blood. A few of the volunteers were declined based on health grounds.
The blood donation exercise was a fallout from the Minister’s Press Briefing that featured the Health Minister. During the briefing, the Chief Executive of the Ghana National Blood Service, Dr. Justina Ansah disclosed that the National Blood Service had run out of blood. Adding that it needed more people to support the blood bank to restock.
She indicated that the restrictions on the COVID-19 pandemic has affected mass blood donation across the country and that has resulted in the shortage of blood at the blood bank.
The Ministry responded by throwing the challenge to members of the press pool and staff of the Ministry to help ameliorate the problem together.
Five weeks on, about 100 volunteers, journalists, staff and members of the general public inclusive came in their numbers to participate in the donation exercise.
The Minister who was excited at the turn out of the exercise commended the volunteers for their kind gesture in helping refill the bank and called on corporate institutions to emulate the gesture.
“The success of the exercise showed how much we can achieve if we bring our hands on deck”, Hon. Oppong Nkrumah emphasized.
The blood donation exercise was supported by the Cocoa Processing Company, Fan Milk Ghana LTD, Accra Brewery LTD, Awake Mineral Drinking Water, Special Ice Company, Arla Foods (Dano Milk), Tobinco Pharmaceuticals and Ocean Spray.
Source: MOI (PR Unit)