Ghana's Blood Collection Index (BCI) has increased in the last five years from 5.2 in 2020 to 6.1 in 2024, with a total of 187,280 units of blood collected last year.
However, this remains below the World Health Organisation's (WHO) minimum recommendation of 10 units per 1,000 population, leaving the country with an annual shortfall of 330,000 units.
The Chief Executive Officer of the National Blood Service, Dr Shirley Phyllis Owusu-Ofori, disclosed this at the Service's annual performance review meeting in Accra, last Thursday.
The event, held on the theme: 'Celebrating 20 Years of Giving: Thank You, Blood Donor,' highlighted ongoing efforts to improve voluntary blood donation and address supply gaps.
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BCI is a key indicator used to measure the availability of blood within a population and calculated as the number of blood units collected per 1,000 people in a given year.
Of all the 16 regions in Ghana, Oti and Savannah had the lowest availability of blood last year while the Upper West and Greater Accra had the most blood stock.
Despite a national requirement of 308,000 units of blood for 2024, the NBS received 187,280 out of the targeted 190,000 with nationwide voluntary blood donation standing at 29 per cent, way below the 40 per cent target.
"We celebrate our voluntary donors, we say we have come far because of their magnanimity but we still do not have enough voluntary blood donors. We need more and I urge all people who have never given blood before to consider it.
For those who have given before and for one reason or the other they needed blood and didn't get and have decided not to give again, they should consider that one woman or child who their unit of blood saved, reconsider and commit to give again," Dr Owusu-Ofori appealed.
In furtherance, she outlined the vision of the NBS for this year to include by ensuring the sufficient supply of blood, that blood donated were safe for transfusion and widen accessibility of blood as a part of efforts towards attaining universal health coverage (UHC).
"We intend to collaborate with GES to build the capacity of students on blood safety and voluntary blood donation, engage development and health partners to mobilise resources for capital investment and expenditure while finalising and implement regulations to facilitate the implementation of the National Blood Service Act, 2020 (Act 1042)," she said.
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The CEO also pointed out plans to implement a standardised testing regime for blood donations across the country while piloting an integrated information management system to manage blood donors, products and recipients, nationwide.
"We hope to complete feasibility studies towards the construction of regional blood centres and collection units across the country to ensure that people everywhere can access blood," she stated.
The Director of Allied Health at the Ministry of Health, Dr Ignatius Awinibuno, noted the pivotal role the NBS played in maintaining a resilient healthcare system and expressed the commitment of the Ministry to support the Service in order to achieve its set targets.
For his part, the WHO Country Representative, Dr Frank Lule, in a speech read on his behalf called for sustained collaboration with stakeholders to overcome present challenges facing the NBS, assuring of the organisation's support to ongoing efforts "to ensure that every patient in need has access to safe and adequate blood."
