Accra, June 14, GNA - A National Policy for the National Blood Service (NBS) has been approved to provide directives to guide the Ministry of Health in ensuring that there was adequate and safe blood to meet the country's needs.

To implement the policy and related issues, a National Blood Committee has been set up to give guidelines on the organisational structure and status, Blood donor recruitment selection and retention, storage and distribution among others.

Speaking at the World Blood Donor Day in Accra, Dr. Sylvia Boye, Chairperson, and National Blood Committee said the policy also covered quality assurance, clinical transfusion-practice, code of ethics and funding.

The Day which was on the theme: "Safe Blood for safe Motherhood" was held simultaneously in over 120 countries worldwide to encourage more people to cultivate a positive attitude towards regular voluntary blood donation which was the basis for sustainable supply of adequate and safe blood as well as recognised their work.

The committee, she noted, composed of representatives of various health practitioners, voluntary blood donors associations, the Red Cross and other stakeholders and accountable to the Minister of Health. "Blood collections were essential to the provision of safe blood and we would continue to rely on voluntary, non remunerated community-based donors recruited from second and third cycle institution religious organisations, social clubs among other groupings, she said.

She said blood safety, availability and accessibility should be the concern of all and called for the support and commitment of government and stakeholders to ensure that everyone who needed safe blood products got the supplies without discrimination. Mrs. Lucy Asamoah Akuoko, Acting Director, NBS said though donors played a vital role in saving lives of thousands of mothers and their newborns, about 500,000 women die needlessly during pregnancy or childbirth with 99 percent of them in developing countries. Mr. Asamoah Akuoko said blood transfusion had become the most important treatment during excessive bleeding in pregnancy, labour and child birth with one out of three transfusions going to women with childbirth related issues at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital alone and that any decrease in blood supply put those mothers at risk. The challenge facing the country was how to avoid blood shortages and ensure the maintenance of safe and adequate blood supply in the nation's hospitals, she said, adding that, this could only be achieved through effective recruitment and retention of regular, voluntary, unpaid, blood donors.

"Blood cannot be manufactured or bought. It is a gift of life from one person who is healthy and can afford to give it to another who needs it to become healthy or stay alive," she said.