PIX: Some of the students at Kumasi Girls taking their turns to give blood during the MTN “Save a Life” blood donation exercise today.

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STUDENTS FROM three Senior High Schools (SHS) in the Kumasi Metropolis namely Osei Kyeretwie, Kumasi Girls and Kumasi Secondary Technical Senior High Schools on Tuesday donated blood to the Komfo Anokye Medicine and Transfusion Unit.

The event which is christened ‘‘Save A life’’ blood donation exercise and falls on Valentine’s day is an initiative of MTN Ghana and has been an annual drive for over a decade.

Speaking to the media, Charles Osei Akoto, Technical Head in charge of Northern Sector said MTN prioritises the health needs of Ghanaians and therefore uses the blood donation exercise to encourage people including its customers to donate blood to support the Blood Bank.

‘’We at MTN see the annual blood donation exercise as an avenue to restock blood at the transfusion units across Ghana so that they could be used  to attend to emergency cases that are brought to the hospitals’’, Mr Akoto stated.

Commitment:

Mr Akoto said MTN was aiming at 4,000 pints of blood for the Medicine and Transfusion Units of the country since the exercise is being held across the 16 regions of Ghana.

He noted that in Kumasi, MTN is aiming at getting about 300 students to voluntarily donate blood so that there would be stock at the hospitals to attend to emergencies.

The Technical Head said that in 2013 MTN was adjudged the highest corporate donor of blood to the Transfusion unit, adding that in 2014 the company also placed second in the category of highest corporate donor of blood.

‘’MTN considers people as part of the business and was committed to carry out health drives such as the ‘save a life’ donation of blood so that it could help restock blood for hospitals to use’’, Mr Akoto stressed.

Blood Manager At KATH:

Speaking to the media, Christian Oppong Mensah, Blood Manager at KATH said the Transfusion Unit needs blood to sustain its operations and to enable the hospital to attend to emergencies and other services that require the transfusion of blood.

He stated that the transfusion unit is able to restock blood at seasons when schools, especially Senior High Schools are in session.

He, however, noted that only healthy persons are required and allowed to donate blood, adding that the students are properly screened to ensure they are fit before they are allowed to give blood.

‘’We are grateful to MTN for sustaining this exercise since 2011 and sponsoring the same. This has allowed us to restock blood and for the three schools that agreed to allow students to voluntarily donate blood we are grateful knowing that this exercise would enable hospitals to be in a position to give blood when persons need the same when they are sick’’, Mr Mensah stated.

BY Michael Ofosu-Afriyie 

Kumasi