The Calvary Charismatic Centre (CCC) in Kumasi has organised a voluntary blood donation exercise to commemorate the 70th birthday of its General Overseer, Reverend Ransford Obeng.

The church partnered with the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) Blood Bank, setting an ambitious target of collecting 700 units of blood to bolster emergency and critical care services across the Ashanti Region.

The National Blood Service has urged Ghanaians to overcome unfounded fears and embrace voluntary blood donation.

Chief Executive Officer of the National Blood Service, Dr Shirley Phyllis Owusu-Ofori, dismissed superstitious beliefs surrounding blood donation, assuring the public of robust transparency and traceability in the blood supply chain.

Dr. Owusu-Ofori emphasised the safety and importance of donation, explaining that the service maintains transparent audit trails for every unit collected.

“People have anxious moments, and fear of the unknown does not stand on well-grounded knowledge to shun blood donation. Blood donation doesn’t make any man weak or impotent. The blood we collect is not used for rituals.

“There are transparent audit trails for every unit of blood that a donor gives. We can trace the unit from the vein of the donor to the vein of the recipient or the patient. A unit can save three lives. For any reason a unit of blood does not end up with a patient, we can show where the unit ended: either it was discharged or used to make components,” she said.

The humanitarian initiative of CCC, which has become an annual hallmark for the past decade, was first instituted when Reverend Obeng turned 60.

Over the years, the church’s consistent blood drives have provided a vital lifeline for hospitals, especially in handling accident victims and other medical emergencies where blood shortages have often proved fatal.

Pastor Ransford Obeng explained the spiritual and practical significance of the gesture.

“Life is about how you use what God has given you to help others. I chose blood donation because there are reports of the implications of accidents without blood at the hospital; they are dire, and people lose their lives,” he said.