The Ghana Football Association, through the GFA Foundation, celebrates World Blood Donor Day 2024 with a Blood Donation campaign which will take place on Wednesday, 17th July, 2024 at the Home of Football (GFA Head Office) located at Ridge.
There will also be a free health screening and dental care check-up for all participants.
On the day, all stakeholders within the Football industry such as GFA Staff, Sponsors, Partners, Players of Men and Women Premier, Division One League Clubs and supporters will donate blood and also support the activity.
The Blood Donation campaign manifests the GFA Foundation’s mission of positively impacting the lives of people through support for national and international development initiatives and goals.
This year’s edition is dubbed the “2nd Pint” because this is the second time the GFA is celebrating the International Day with a Blood Donation drive. The first edition was celebrated last year along with the Ghana Tourism Authority during their 50th Anniversary commemoration.
Since 2004, the World Health Organization (WHO), its partners and communities across the world, have celebrated 14th June as the World Blood Donor Day and this year, the celebration is under the theme “20 years of celebrating giving: Thank you, blood donors”.
The GFA Foundation believes there is an urgent need to stock safe, adequate efficacious blood and blood products in blood banks in all hospitals across the country to support medical and surgical procedures such as treatment of complications during pregnancy and childbirth, and severe anaemia in children.
“It’s important for people to donate blood because the surest way to determine if you are in good health is when you donate blood since you must be in good health to donate.”, GFA President Kurt Edwin Simeon-Okraku admonished.
The Director of the GFA Foundation, Malcolm Frazier Appeadu indicated that “many people have sought treatment for hitherto unknown health conditions which were detected during the process to donate blood.”
He therefore called on the general public especially sports and football fans, members of keep fit clubs, unions and associations, market women, traders, students, etc. to participate massively in the Blood Donation campaign on 17th July, 2024.