Specialist haematologist and laboratory physician at the National Blood Service Ghana, Dr Williams Ansah-Otu, has warned that mothers who suffer severe bleeding during childbirth need immediate access to blood and blood products to survive.
Speaking on Joy Prime, Dr Ansah-Otu said haemorrhage is one of the two leading causes of maternal death in Ghana, alongside hypertension in pregnancy.
“Two of the leading causes of maternal death in Ghana is hypertension in pregnancy and haemorrhage,” he said.
He said the country’s efforts to reduce maternal deaths from bleeding must therefore be supported by a reliable supply of donated blood.
“You cannot talk about haemorrhage without blood,” Dr Ansah-Otu said.
He cited the case of a woman with a chronic medical condition who was preparing to deliver and was considered at risk of bleeding. According to him, the National Blood Service was asked to prepare platelets and fresh frozen plasma ahead of the delivery in case she developed complications.
Dr Ansah-Otu said blood cannot simply be obtained from a pharmacy when a patient begins to bleed.
“Blood is not something you can go and buy from the pharmacy, even if you have the money,” he said.
He explained that a single donated unit can be processed into different blood components, including concentrated red blood cells, fresh frozen plasma, platelets and cryoprecipitate.
He therefore urged Ghanaians to donate blood regularly, stressing that the need is particularly important for women who may experience severe bleeding during childbirth.
“Mothers are bleeding and some of them bleed to death,” he said.
