By Joyce Danso, GNA
Accra July 13, GNA - The 37 Military Hospital has commissioned its Blood Bank facility in Accra with call on the staff of the hospital to instil voluntarism in people to donate blood to save lives.
The upgraded facility, which has been awarded ISO Accreditation Certificate, makes it one of the best blood banks in the West Africa, which could process 50 units of blood daily.
Major General William Azure Ayamdo, Chief of Army Staff, who made the call, noted that, the accreditation was just the beginning of good things to come and the hospital was expected to maintain the standards.
Major General Ayamdo said blood was one of the intrinsic universal elements that connected people to each other, adding, “no matter who or where you are, in society, it is one of the things that you can give and save life of another human being.
According to Major General Ayamdo the process involved in giving and taking blood was complicated, and thus, required the best of facilities.
He said the 37 Military Hospital had provided back up for the National Blood Bank and that had been made possible because the facility adhered to a “rigid adherence to the policy of issuing blood on replacement basis, else, the bank would have gone bankrupt.”
Major General Ayamdo said the low number of voluntary donors, made it difficult to satisfy the high numbers of patients who required services.
He encouraged people who are healthy and fell within the ages of 17 to 60 years to donate to save lives.
Brigadier General Michael Akwasi Yeboah-Agyapong, Commander of the Hospital noted that the hospital staff were not resting on their oars, adding, they were strategising and ensuring that an enabling environment was created for its clients.
Brigadier Yeboah-Agyapong said the hospital, which had an added role as a national disaster facility, needed to have blood readily available.
He noted that the recent industrial action embarked on by Laboratory scientists, the hospital was the only facility serving the whole of Accra.
Colonel Seth Attoh, Officer In charge of Pathology Department of the Hospital, noted that blood was an important resource in the treatment of various ailments and diseases.
According to Colonel Attoh blood represented life and there was no substitute for it hence, the need to donate and save lives of people.
Colonel Attoh noted there were about 500 public laboratories in Ghana but none was accredited with local or international standards.
GNA
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