Doctors, nurses and other staff of the Koforidua Regional Hospital have donated blood to the Blood Bank to improve the blood stock to help save lives.

Dr Arko Akoto-Amppaw, the Medical Director of the Hospital, who led the staff in the blood donation exercise, said as a result of the COVID-19, schools, which had been donating blood frequently to the Blood Bank, were on break, hence affecting the blood supply.

He said the staff, therefore, decided to organise the blood donation exercise to demonstrate to the public that it was safe to donate blood in order to encourage voluntarily donation.

He said the blood donated was screened and based on the requests of donors the results were made available to them to seek medical attention if necessary.

Dr Akoto-Amppaw, therefore, invited the public to participate in the Hospital’s blood donation campaign to be held at the Old Estate in Koforidua on September 21, 2020.

Ms Philomina Quayson, Blood Organiser for the Hospital, said the facility was the only one in the country where parents were not required to replace blood given to their children on admission.

She explained that though the Hospital did not sell blood, patients requiring blood transfusion were asked to pay part of the cost of processing the blood that would be donated as a replacement.

Ms Quayson said already, for this year alone, the Hospital had spent Gh¢200,000.00 on the processing of blood and appealed to religious organisations, social groups, and Organised Labour to join the blood donation campaign on September 21 to help save lives.