Stakeholders call for a stop to charging of processing fees for blood

The National Blood Service has had talks with the National Health Insurance Authority to address concerns over processing fees for blood at hospitals.

The fees, which are not covered by the National Health Insurance Scheme, vary from GHC250 upwards per unit of blood and are not standardized across facilities, causing a burden on patients.

Medical practitioners like Dr. Annabel Bawah have called for the fees to be scrapped, especially in emergency situations.

The National Blood Service has received over 50,000 blood collections, with a baseline blood collection index per 1000 rising from 5.8% to 5.9% in 2023 ⁴.