Kumasi-Ghana, Feb 15, GNA – MTN Ghana has resumed its annual “Save a Life” blood donation campaign with a target of collecting 300 pints of blood for the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) blood bank.
Initiated in 2013, the annual event went on a two-year break following the COVID-19 pandemic, which prohibited mass gathering of people.
The exercise, which is held across all the regions on Valentine’s Day, forms part of the company’s commitment to the health needs of Ghanaians.
In the Ashanti Region, three Senior High Schools, including Kumasi Girls, Osei Kyeretwie, and Kumasi Secondary Technical participated in this year’s exercise.
It provided a platform to staff of MTN, its partners and the public to show love on Valentine’s Day by donating a unit of blood to help save lives.
This year’s campaign targets about 4000 units of blood to stock various blood banks across the country.
Mr Charles Osei Akoto, the Northern Sector Head of Technical Department of MTN, said the availability of blood in various health facilities was critical to the live-saving efforts of health professionals.
Maternal mortality rate in the country, he said, could significantly reduce if Ghanaians prioritised voluntary blood donation and urged the public to patronise the MTN initiative to save lives.
“According to the National Blood Transfusion Service, about 36 per cent of the national blood supply is from voluntary donations and this is not encouraging,” he stated.
Since the inception of the initiative in 2011, over 20,000 units of blood have been collected.
The “Save A Life” project has earned the MTN Foundation some recognition, including the “Highest Corporate Blood Donor” in 2013, the “Second Highest Corporate Donor” in 2014 and one of the Highest Corporate Donors” in 2015.
Mr Christian Oppong Mensah, the Blood Manager at KATH, commended the MTN foundation for their continued support to the blood Bank.
