The Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), in collaboration with the National Blood Service (NBS), has organised a blood donation exercise to stock the Blood Bank and help save lives of patients.

The exercise, on the theme: “National Blood Donation Drive” was part of the Authority’s responsibility to regulate the production of blood supplements and ensure a well-stocked Blood Bank.

The exercise saw almost 150 participants from different institutions including the FDA, Ghana Standards Authority, and the National Identification Authority donating to make the exercise successful.

Mrs Mimi Darko, the Chief Executive Officer of the FDA, told the Ghana News Agency that the exercise was spearheaded by the Biologics Department of the FDA, after learning that a patient needs blood every two seconds to survive in the various health institutions.

She said, however, that access to blood was a challenge because the quantities needed were not available, thereby putting the lives of many patients at risk.

The exercise was, therefore, organised to reduce the loss of lives due to shortage of blood.

Mrs Darko said as a Regulator, the FDA had a responsibility to ensure that blood and blood products were wholesome, hence the need to support the NBS and the public in general.

Mrs Joyce Oppong Adu, a Senior Blood Donor Organiser of the NBS, commended the FDA for supporting the Service, which is always in dire need of blood to save lives.

“Blood is like a drug so just as a person could be down with malaria and needs malaria course to get well, it’s the same way that if a person is anaemic, that fellow would need blood to survive and its only through blood transfusion that we can save the life of that patient,” she said.

Mrs Oppong told the GNA that the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital alone needs about 100 to 200 units of blood daily and about 500 to 600 units of blood daily to distribute to health facilities across the Greater Accra Region.

“Right now, as we speak, we don’t have enough blood and so the exercise will help us a lot,” she said.