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The National Blood Service (NBS) says the man, Eric Mensah, who was captured in JoyNews’ exposé on how a syndicate illegally sells a pint of blood for GH¢750, is not a staff.
The Service, in a press release signed by the Chief Executive, Dr Justina K. Ansah, said “it is clear from the documentary that the meeting between the investigative team and the said Eric Mensah took place outside the Blood Bank of Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital.”
She added that “at no point in the documentary was Eric Mensah seen within the working area of the Blood Bank.”
“No staff of the NBS was captured in the documentary as part of the alleged syndicate as the heading of the documentary portrays,” portions of the release noted.
This comes after a JoyNews and Corruption Watch investigation uncovered the illegal collection of fees for blood supply by a syndicate operating within the National Blood Service at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital and the Greater Accra Regional Blood Bank.
In the shooting of the exposé, the investigative team approached Eric Mensah, popularly referred to as Akwasi among his peers of which follow-up investigation established that this man in his early 30s is the ‘leader’ of a syndicate that facilitates the illegal purchase of blood at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital. He is also alleged to be a worker at the blood bank.
The investigative team told him they needed blood for a patient with ovarian cancer.
He demanded GH¢750 for a pint of blood, but after intense haggling, he slashed ¢50 off. Finally, the team agreed to pay GH¢700.
But NBS in reaction to JoyNews’ documentary said the Service does not provide blood directly to patients or their relatives.
“We distribute the blood collected from voluntary blood donors to Hospital’s Blood Banks which in turn cross-match and issue the blood to patients for transfusion,” it added.
The Service, however, commended The Multimedia Group for the “exposé which brings to the fore the perennial shortage of blood in hospital blood banks and the associated extortion of money from patient and their relatives by some unscrupulous individuals.”
It further condemned “in no uncertain terms the extortion of money from patients and relatives by the individuals captured in the documentary.”
In view of this, Management of the National Blood Service “is collaborating with the Police to arrest the said Eric Mensah and further investigate the reported alleged illegal sale of blood at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital Blood Bank.”
They, therefore, urged the public to avoid dealing with such unscrupulous individuals who offer to sell blood to them at any health facility.
NBS also used the opportunity to call on the public to donate blood on regular basis to help prevent the perennial shortage, adding that “voluntary blood donation is our civic responsibility.”
Source: myJoy
