A total of 2,015 pints of blood have been collected this year by insurance companies in the country to stock the National Blood Bank.
The blood collected between August and September this year is under the Nationwide Blood Donation Campaign by the National Insurance Commission (NIC).
The campaign was launched last year to mobilise staff of the various insurance companies in the country to voluntarily donate blood to stock the National Blood Bank.
In the maiden campaign last year, 802 pints of blood were collected for the National Blood Bank.
As part of the programme, the NIC donated some medical supplies such as surgical gloves, syringes, and gallons of liquid soap to the Oncology Paediatric Unit of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital.
Speaking at the closing ceremony of the Nationwide Blood Donation Campaign at the Child Health Department of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, the Director of the NBS, Dr Shirley Owusu-Ofori in remarks made on his behalf, the Acting Director Southern Zonal Blood Centre, Dr Dilys John-Teye, expressed gratitude to the operators in the Insurance Industry in Ghana, for donating blood to save lives and stock the National Blood Bank.
She said blood was an essential product which could not be manufactured and required individuals to donate to save people who needed them.
Dr Owusu-Ofori stated that the blood donation to the National Blood Service (NBS) by the insurance industry was the biggest in the history of the Service for a particular industry to donate such quantum of blood to the NBS.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr Opoku Ware Ampomah, in his remarks, lauded the NIC and the Insurance companies for the national Blood Donation Campaign.
He said blood donation was essential service which required the support of individuals to voluntarily donate blood.
Dr Ampomah called on other corporate bodies to emulate the gesture of NIC and the insurance companies and also donate blood to stock the National Blood Bank.
The Commissioner of Insurance, Dr Justice Ofori, said the exercise formed part of the corporate social responsibility of the NIC and the insurance companies to support healthcare delivery by donating blood.
He said donating blood was a civic duty to save lives and urged the public to voluntarily donate blood to stock the National Blood Bank.
Dr Ofori expressed hope that next year staff of the insurance companies would donate more blood than what they did this year.
BY KINGSLEY ASARE
