Rawlings Raises Alarm Over Blood Donation

Former President Jerry John Rawlings has urged Ghanaians to respond positively to the call for regular blood donations.

To him, “times are hard, tight and tough. Nonetheless life must go on if we can make it so” and has therefore urged individuals who are healthy to respond to the call for regular blood donations.

Using himself as an example, the former president said he used to donate blood, “but a while ago, I was informed I was ineligible to donate because I had attained the donor age limit of 60 years.”

He said a near emergency he went through last week was a wake-up call to the importance of blood donation and the need to ensure the adequacy of blood in the hospital banks.

“The demand for blood is one that all well-meaning citizens should take seriously,” the former President shared his thoughts on Facebook on Tuesday.

“We save lives by ensuring that our national blood banks are well-stocked. So I urge all citizens not to wait till their loved ones are in distress.”

Adding he said, “It is important that we all offer to donate blood so we have an adequate stock of all blood types all year round.”

Mr Rawlings extended a warm gratitude to Dr. Lawrence Sereboe and his team at the National Cardiothoracic Centre as well as the 37 Military Hospital for the care they gave him when he was there last week.

“Persons interested in donating blood should feel free to walk into any major hospital where an appropriate screening will be done and your blood taken to save a life. You can find more details on the National Blood Service website - http://nbsghana.org,” Mr Rawlings wrote.