Accra, Aug. 18, GNA - The numerous deaths of pregnant women during child delivery due to excessive lost of blood has pushed the Greater Accra Regional Health Directorate to embark on blood donation campaign to save the lives of pregnant women in the Region. Ghana Maternal Health Survey conducted by the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has shown that excessive bleeding contributed to about a quarter of all maternal deaths in 2009 throughout the country. A total of 905 maternal deaths were recorded in health facilities nationwide.

Acute blood loss in women during childbirth could lead to death since the blood volume will drastically reduce making it impossible for oxygen supply to the vital organs.

The campaign, which is underway until end of the year, is being organised in collaboration with the National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS) to inculcate the habit of voluntary blood donation into every Ghanaian and discourage family donation which are done only to replace what has already been used for their family members. Ms Honesty Numetu, Head of Health Promotion Unit of Greater Accra Regional Health Directorate of GHS, told Ghana News Agency that the Directorate was recruiting members in the communities to undertake voluntary blood donation.

She noted that a pint of blood from a donor would go a long way to save the life of a sister, wife or an auntie 93Therefore as Ghanaians, we should cultivate this habit of voluntarily donating so that we have more than enough stock at the blood bank to save the lives of those in need especially our pregnant women". Ms Numetu said haemorrhage had been identified as the main cause of maternal deaths in the Region and these deaths could have been prevented if blood lost was replaced.

Giving some statistics, she said the Region in 2008 recorded a total of 167 maternal deaths, 166 maternal deaths in 2009, 163 maternal deaths in 2010 and 109 maternal deaths for the first half of 2011 all mostly due to haemorrhage.

She noted that a lot of concern had been expressed about shortage of blood in the country's blood banks as every human being required healthy blood to exist, 93But little provision has been made by community members to have adequate blood in stock at all times in the various blood banks."

"Efforts by the GHS and NBTS may not yield the desired results without the involvement and commitment of community members," she added.

This situation has stressed the need for the Greater Accra Regional Health Directorate in collaboration with its partners to embark on blood donation campaigns to store more blood in their various blood banks to save the lives of women.

Maternal Mortality ratio in 2007 was 541 deaths per 100,000 live births. In 2008, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital had 10,312 pregnant women reporting and 69 of them died from child birth related problems. Ms Numetu explained that though there were many causes of bleeding, the commonest cause of excessive bleeding following child birth was the failure of the uterus to contract effectively. "But some live-saving measures can be used to manage the situation and if the loss of blood is high blood transfusion may be required."

Ms Numetu called for urgent blood transfusion, which she described as the only single effective treatment and appealed to Ghanaians to cultivate the habit of donating blood voluntarily to stock the blood banks with enough safe blood that would be readily available to help save lives.

She urged Ghanaians to donate voluntarily to help save lives of women from dying when giving birth, since child birth should be a joyous one.

In a related interview with Ghana News Agency, Dr Tetteh Carboo, Donor Services Manager of National Blood Service, said the country did not have enough blood to save lives and currently had a little over 100,000 units of blood per year instead of the 250,000 units per year. He explained that the bad situation had created a gap compelling commercial blood donors to take money from desperate relatives of sick people just to donate blood on behalf of the patients. =A0 This practice, Dr Carboo said was not encouraging, because research had shown that blood given by such donors usually tested positive for HIV, AIDS or Hepatitis B.

=A0 He urged Ghanaians to adopt healthy lifestyles and added that it was a sure way of ensuring that they would continue to donate safe blood for the needy.