A Youtube “Evangelist” by the name Addai Emmanuel who is known for accusing anyone of being in the “Illuminati” depending on his mood recently called out the CEO of Despite Group of Companies, Dr. Osei Kwame Despite for luring innocent citizens into donating blood only to use the blood for ritual purposes. The allegations have come to the notice of the National Blood Service (NBS) and they have expressed their shock and disappointment that such a well-meaning endeavor could be so unfortunately misconstrued and have released a statement to address these concerns. The statement says,
“The National Blood Service (NBS) has noted with deep shock and utter disappointment video and audio recordings by one Evangelist Emmanuel Addai making rounds in certain social media circles alleging that blood donated by voluntary blood donors during community blood donation drives organised by the Despite Group of Companies are used for rituals by Dr. (H.C) Osei Kwame Despite. The assertions by the said Evangelist that the blood collected from voluntary blood donors who patronise such blood donation drives do not get to hospitals are uninformed and portrays a lack of understanding of blood donation process. The NBS wishes to state emphatically that these assertions by the said Evangelist Addai on the recordings are palpably false, baseless and most regrettable”.
The NBS is calling on the general public to ignore these preposterous claims by the so-called Evangelist as they were made out of pure ignorance. “Over the past few years, the Despite Group of Companies has consistently supported the NBS in its efforts to meet the national blood requirements. The NBS appreciates the enormous contributions of the Despite Group of Companies and other corporate organizations, religious bodies, educational institutions and organized community groups towards the steady growth of voluntary blood donation in Ghana.
We urge our partners to remain committed to the noble objective of saving lives through blood donation… Regular voluntary unpaid blood donors are recognised globally as the safest source of blood for transfusion and the surest way to provide and sustain adequate blood supply. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends that regular blood donation by 1% of the population is required to meet the minimum national blood requirement. However, Ghana’s blood supply currently relies heavily on replacement donations by family and friends of patients who require blood transfusion therapy”.
The Blood Service also clarified that no member of the Despite Group was involved in the technical process of any of the blood donation exercises.