Ghanaian Chronicle (Accra)

Ghana: MTN Celebrities Val's Day With Blood Donation

By Chris Twum, 21 February 2013

Telecom giant, MTN, used the Valentine Day to donate blood for the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital.

It was part of a nationwide initiative to re-stock blood banks, in response to reports of acute shortage at the National Blood Bank at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital and other hospitals.

For instance, health officials at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital recently appealed for more universal blood or blood group 'O' donors.

More than 100 units of blood were collected at the Kumasi event organized by the MTN Foundation on Thursday.

Similar exercises were held in Accra at the Ridge Towers, Rawlings Park at Makola and the Effiankwanta Hospital at Takoradi in the Western Region.

People from all walks of life took part in the highly patronised exercises in the Ashanti, Greater Accra and Western regions.

The MTN Foundation has over the years embarked on social intervention programs aim at improving lives. It recently commissioned a Maternity Block for the Ejisu Government Hospital and also donated sets of incubators to the KNUST Hospital.

Community Relations Advisor at MTN, Charity Nyarko said the company used the donation exercise to share love with people in its catchment areas.

"We decided that on a day like Valentine Day that we are showing love to all people, we also take the opportunity and donate blood to stock the blood bank at the various regions...It's with the aim of enriching lives that we embarked on this activity".

Head of Transfusion Service at KATH, Dr. Shirley Owusu-Ofori, was excited about the turn-out.

She commended MTN for being the first telecom company to take the initiative.

According to Dr. Owusu-Ofori, it is time corporate institutions play a leading role in the general welbeing of their customers.

She is hopeful the hospital would stand a better chance of benefiting from the new partnership with MTN.

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  • Danny Haszard
    Mar 17 2013, 07:49
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    Thanks for posting this news,someone needs blood every 2 seconds,give the gift of life! I was a non-donating Jehovah's Witness for 33 years and now a regular Red Cross blood donor with my 'blood buddy' girlfriend. Jehovah's Witnesses blood transfusion confusion Jehovah's Witnesses take blood products now in 2012.

    They take all fractions of blood.This includes hemoglobin, albumin, clotting factors, cryosupernatant and cryo-poor too, and many, many, others. If one adds up all the blood fractions the JWs takes, it equals a whole unit of blood. Any, many of these fractions are made from thousands upon thousands of units of donated blood. Jehovah's Witnesses now accept every fraction of blood except the membrane of the red blood cell. -- Danny Haszard