PERSONALITY PROFILE -MLS EDWIN GBLI NARTER-OLAGA
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MLS EDWIN GBLI NARTER-OLAGA [FWAPCMLS, FIBMLS, MPhil, PGCert(Edu), BSc. (UK), Dip.MLS]
Born on the 6th of July, 1948, Edwin Gbli Narter-Olaga was the last but one of 13 children. Happily married with two (2) boys and a girl, he attended the Akuse Local Authority (L/A) Middle School where he sat for the Common Entrance Examination in 1963 and was awarded full Cocoa Marketing Board (CMB) Scholarship to attend Odorgonno (Boys) Secondary School at Adabraka (1964 – 1969).
In January 1972, Edwin Gbli Narter-Olaga was selected with ten other (10) candidates into the School of Medical Laboratory Technology (SMLT) at Korle-Bu to be trained as medical laboratory technicians under the American Mrs. Rhoda Schneider and Mr. Ofori Ameyaw as Principal and Vice Principal respectively. Edwin Gbli Narter-Olaga was one of the only three (3) candidates out of the eleven (11) to pass the final examination in December 1974. After the mandatory one (1) year internship, he was posted to Akuse Government Hospital in 1975 where he worked before being passing an interview by the Health Laboratory Services (HLS) in 1980 for selection to Great Britain for further training and upgrading.
In September 1981, Narter-Olaga started the Advanced Course at the Bromley College of Technology and Further Studies (now part of Greenwich University) in UK. He was attached to the St. Thomas Hospital in Central London where he was mentored by Mr Robin Knight in Haematology and Blood Transfusion Department. While in UK, he joined the Institute of Medical Laboratory sciences as a student member and became a full member in 1985.
Narter-Olaga returned to Ghana in 1986 and was immediately transferred to the Korle-bu Blood Bank to reorganize the blood transfusing services in Ghana. His excellent management style made the Korle-bu Blood Bank a centre of excellence where grouping sera and other reagents were produced, a center where all blood antigen-antibody tests were done, and a place where blood was never in short supply. As a bench trainer in Blood Transfusion, and a potential lecturer of SMLT, he was sent to the University of Cape Coast (UCC) where he obtained a post graduate certificate of education in 1990 to be more equipped for professional teaching.
In September 1991, he was sponsored by the Ministry of Health again to Bromley College to specialize in Blood Transfusion Science after which he came back in 1995 as a Fellow of Institute of Biomedical Laboratory Science (IBMLS). While at the Bromley College he was attached to the North London Blood Transfusion Centre under the mentorship of Robin Knight to learn a lot more about blood transfusion especially, preparation of ABO reagent, Anti-D and Anti-human globulin, detection and identification of clinically significant antibodies.
Consultant MLS Narter-Olaga has been involved in sharing knowledge and experience as a teacher and lecturer at the SMLT post his UK training. He helped in changing the phases of Medical Laboratory with the writing of technical manuals for Blood Transfusion in Ghana and as a member of the British Blood Transfusion Science (BBTS). In 1996, he became the first recipient of Princess Diana travel scholarship to travel to attend BBTS Annual Scientific Conference in Scotland, UK.
At the first National Delegates Congress of the Association of Ghana Medical Laboratory Scientists (AGMLS), now Ghana Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists (GAMLS) held in 1995, Edwin Gbli Narter-Olaga was elected the Deputy-General Secretary of the association, a position he used to help Mr. David Tette Donkor (the then GAMLS President) to bring the private laboratories under one umbrella called the Association of Private Medical Laboratories (APMLs) in 1997. He was later elected as the General Secretary of GAMLS at the 2nd National Delegates Congress of the association in 1998 and then 1st Vice-President at the 3rd National Delegates Congress held at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi in 2002.
Specialist MLS in Blood Transfusion, Narter-Olaga was seconded to 37 Military Hospital in 2000 by Ministry of Health after he was exonerated by the World Health Organization (WHO) on the accusation of issuing out contaminated blood products at the National Blood Transfusion Science in Korle-Bu. He has then transformed Blood Transfusion Science in the facility and making 37 Military Blood Transfusion Center the best in the Country and one of the best in Africa.
Edwin obtained a Master of Philosophy degree (MPhil) in Pathology at the University of Ghana in 2007. He has researched into several areas including:
- The incidence of HTLV I & II antibodies among Blood Donors at 37 Military Hospital.
- Positive Direct Antihuman-Globulin Test (DAT) in malaria positive children at the Department of Child Health of Korle-bu Teaching Hospital.
Contributing to science, Consultant Edwin Gbli Narter-Olaga has published several articles in diverse journals including Vox Sanguins, Transfusion Science Journal, and the Journal of Microbiology. He wrote the Technical Manual for Blood Transfusion in Ghana which was copied to the Ghana Writers Association and lodged at the George Moore library in Accra. He has been a part-time lecturer at the University of Ghana School of Biomedical and Allied Health Sciences for several years. Well known for his devotion to blood transfusion science and blood banking in Ghana, there’s no way one will escape this gallant professional in narrating exploits in the field.
MLS Edwin Gbli Narter-Olaga is an Honorary Member of GAMLS, a member of the Council of Elders of the association, a Foundation Fellow of the West African Postgraduate College of Medical Laboratory Science (WAPCMLS), Consultant Blood Transfusion Scientist, and currently consulting with the 37 Military Hospital.
The GAMLS COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT with the support of leadership and members do hereby honor Consultant MLS EDWIN GBLI NARTER-OLAGA for his role in Blood Transfusion and Laboratory practice in Ghana and beyond.
GAMLShonors your many contributions towards the upliftment of transfusion of blood and blood products in the Medical Laboratory Profession. Your legacy lives on forever.
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