The National Blood Service led by Dr. Shirley Owusu-Ofori, CEO, and the Blood Donor Recruitment team paid a courtesy call to Rev. Dr. Mensa Otabil and the ICGC leadership at the ultra-modern church complex at Teshie on February 1, 2023. The meeting was aimed at formally introducing the new Chief Executive Officer of the National Blood Service to the ICGC team and then discussing the upcoming nationwide blood donation exercise organized by the church.
Reverend Dr. Mensah Otabil welcomed the blood service team to the ICGC Christ Temple East and set the ball rolling for further discussions. The CEO of the National Blood Service introduced herself and the blood service team to the ICGC team. She profoundly thanked Rev. Dr. Mensah Otabil and his team for consistently collaborating with the National Blood Service by organizing voluntary blood donation drives to help save several lives. Dr. Shirley Owusu-Ofori also laid bare the reality of blood supply and demand in Ghana. She noted that the National Blood Service has over the years been able to only meet about 50% of the blood requirement in Ghana. She indicated that only 20% of this 50% is from voluntary non-remunerated blood donors, and the rest is from family replacement donors. Dr. Shirley wishes that more churches, workplaces, organized groups, and media houses emulate the good works of ICGC by supporting blood donation activities in Ghana.
Reverend Dr. Mensah Otabil assured the blood service team of the church’s commitment to supporting voluntary blood donation exercises. He revealed that he started donating blood during his secondary school days, which encouraged him to get the church involved. Dr. Otabil further stated that the church started voluntary blood donation in 1986 when the church was barely two years old at the Baiden Powell Memorial Hall in Accra. He revealed the church’s plan to mobilize 4,000 units of blood this year from all the regions and targeted to mobilize about 12,000 units of blood during the 40th-anniversary celebrations of the church. He proposed to the ICGC blood donation team to plan to collect blood monthly throughout the year. He advised the blood donor recruitment officers of the National Blood Service to work hand in hand with the ICGC medical team in conducting donor education to maximize the impact of the sensitization. The ICGC Nationwide blood donation exercise will be launched on February 26, 2023.
