Koforidua, June 15, GNA - Twenty-eight women died in the Eastern Region during child delivery in the first quarter of 2004 while the region recorded 45 similar deaths during the same period this year. Mrs Margaret Appiah-Tuffour, the Eastern Regional Deputy Director of Nursing Service, said this at this year's World Blood Donors Day at Koforidua on Tuesday.

She described the figures as "serious" for which urgent action was needed to check the situation before the country lost more of its healthy and productive young women through maternal death. Mrs Appiah-Tuffour said some of the women might have had died through excessive bleeding and lack of blood at the appropriate time for transfusion.

She called on the gathering to educate pregnant women to attend antenatal clinic when they are pregnant in other to prevent most of these deaths.

Mrs Appiah-Tuffour advised the youth to avoid pre-marital sex and asked pregnant women, who wanted to terminate their pregnancies to go to the hospitals and avoid going to quack doctors who end up infecting them through unprofessional operations that could end up in their "avoidable death."

Ms Francisca Dzata, the Regional Director of Laboratory Services, said out of the 2,263 units of blood donated at the Koforidua Regional Hospital last year, 212 units or nine per cent, had to be discarded because they were found to be infected with either HIV, Hepatitis C or B and other infectious diseases.

She, therefore, appealed to potential blood donors to be honest when answering questions about their health and lifestyles, so as to help reduce death and illness caused by transfusion of blood. Ms Dzata appealed to the public to help recruit new low-risk donors and explained that family replacement of blood transfused or paid donors could phase out if enough blood was available at all times. Mr Lucio Derry, the Administrator of the Koforidua Regional Hospital, appealed to the people to help recruit voluntary blood donors for the Blood Bank to ensure that blood was always available.

In a quiz competition organized to mark the day, Master Raymond Darko of Koforidua Secondary Technical won the first position, with Miss Margaret Tsewaa of Koforidua Secondary School taking the second position whiles Master Stephen Abankwa also of Koforidua Secondary Technical School placed third. They were presented with prizes donated by the Eastern Regional Secretariat of the Ghana Health Service. 15 June 05