Donewell Insurance has partnered Happy to stock the National Blood Bank and the 37 Military Hospital Blood Bank. The Happy FM/Donewell Insurance Blood donation drive was put on hold in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 restrictions; but with the easing of restrictions, Donewell and its partner, Happy FM, have what used to be the sought after Blood Donation exercise in Ghana for the third time as partners.
The National Blood Service has always complained about its inability to reach the set target for Voluntary Unpaid Blood Donation across the country year in year out. It is against this background that Happy FM initiated the blood donation exercise for over a decade to the National Blood Service and the 37 Military Hospital Blood Bank, and also encourage voluntary blood donation.
The exercise, dubbed: ‘Donate a Pint of Blood and Save a Life’, saw many people troop to the Ayalolo Bus Terminal in Accra to support what they describe as a worthy cause.
Corporate social responsibility
Speaking at the event, the Programmes Manager of Happy 98.9 FM, Elwoode Mantey, said the event is a charitable event Happy FM is embarking on as part of its corporate social responsibility to give back to society. He added that the exercise is also to raise awareness and increase the number of voluntary donations in the country.
“We do this annually to sensitise people on the need to donate blood to save lives and replenish the National Blood Bank and the 37 Military Military Hospital as often as they can manage. We are encouraging voluntary donation as against what has become a standard of replacement donation and in emergency situations. Replacement blood may prevent adequate screening before it’s supplied to the patient but with voluntary donation there is more time for the blood to be screened,” Elwoode Mantey stated.
Speaking about the motivation behind partnering, the initiative Acting Head of Marketing and Business Development at Donewell Insurance, Cecilia Bruce, said: “This is the third time we are partnering this life-saving event, and the objective has always been to save lives and impact the community within which we conduct our business. At Donewell, we believe that life is priceless; and therefore, we invest in notable and worthy events such as this blood donation exercise to bring hope to people and save lives”.
Nevertheless, it was not just about donating; patrons also had the opportunity to check their haemoglobin level, blood pressure, eye, among others. The donors were also thrilled to meet and interact with some of their favourite presenters and staff of Happy FM like Wisdom Agboza, popularly known as Ps. Nyansa Boakwa, host of Nsem Pii, Mercy Buabeng (Mercy Bee) among a host of others.
Patrons and donors received Kinapharma’s blood tonic and were also fully refreshed with products from Cowbell, Healthi Life, Vitamilk and other partners. Free Eye Care and Medical screening were also conducted by IVision Centre and Cedar Medical Plaza respectively, for all patrons and donors.
The 2022 edition of the Happy FM/ Donewell Insurance Blood Donation exercise held on August 12 at the Ayalolo Bus Terminal was sponsored by 37 Military Hospital, National Blood Service, Kinapharma Limited, Healthi Life, Cedar Medical Plaza, IVision Centre, Cowbell, Primelife Kidney Foundation and Vitamilk.
