Patients requiring blood for medical procedures may soon heave a sigh of relief, as the govern­ment is considering scrapping the payment of process­ing fees for accessing blood.The Minister of Health, Kwabe­na Mintah Akandoh, disclosed this during an event to commem­orate World Blood Donor Day (WBDD) last Friday.He said the move is part of the Mahama Cares policy aimed at improving blood availability across the country."Under the Mahama Cares policy framework, we are actively exploring ways to ease the finan­cial burden on patients.This includes considering targeted subsidies and potentially abolishing blood processing fees, subject, of course, to parliamen­tary approval.

The goal is to im­prove access and equity in blood services, particularly for the most vulnerable," he stated.Marked every year on June 14, WBDD seeks to raise awareness about the need for safe blood and blood products, and to thank voluntary, unpaid donors for their life-saving contributions.This year's celebration was held on the theme: 'Give Blood, Give Hope: Together We Save Lives.'The Minister paid glowing tribute to voluntary blood donors, acknowledging their critical role in sustaining the country's blood supply.He called for renewed efforts to promote year-round voluntary blood donation and build a resil­ient national blood reserve."To every Ghanaian aged 17 to 60, I appeal to your sense of civic duty.

Your single act of giving blood could be the reason another life is saved.Let each of us play our part and commit to being champions of voluntary blood donation.

Together, we can ensure that no Ghanaian dies because safe blood was unavailable when they needed it most," he urged.The Chief Executive Officer of the National Blood Service (NBS), Dr Shirley Owusu-Ofori, highlighted major achievements by the Service in 2024, including collecting 187,280 units of blood, representing 99 per cent of the national target.She added that over 45,000 units of blood were processed into various components to meet the growing demand for timely and safe transfusions.Despite the gains, Dr Owu­su-Ofori pointed out key chal­lenges, including limited infra­structure for donations, a shortage of mobile collection vans, and inadequate funding for a nation­wide digital Blood Information Management System.The CEO, thus called for the establishment of regional blood centres and a sustainable fully funded national blood donor pro­gramme in order to strengthen the country's blood supply system. BY ABIGAIL ANNOH