Steady rise in blood donation during Ramadan

Doha: Hamad Medical Corporation’s (HMC) Qatar Blood Services’ nationwide campaign has boosted donor participation, said an official. 

The daily campaigns, mobile blood donation units, annual Ramadan blood donation campaign have contributed to a steady increase of donors, Dr. Sara Adel Salim, Haematopathology / Transfusion Medicine Senior Consultant, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at the HMC, told The Peninsula. 

 “Blood donation campaign has had an impressive turn out of donors this Ramadan, especially since we are based in accessible public locations and the donor centres are open at times convenient to those interested,” she said. 

Due to the high number of voluntary blood donors, Qatar has been 100 percent self-sufficient for several years and the country relies entirely on local volunteer donors.

Qatar Blood Services aims to entrench the culture of voluntary donation and to provide adequate and safe stocks of blood in Qatar.

“We currently have an excellent count of voluntary donors, who provide a healthy supply of blood and blood products, enough to meet the patient demand. We urge the public to donate in this holy month of Ramadan, you can make a real difference to someone’s life. Those observing the fast are advised to wait until Iftar to donate. People who are not fasting can donate between 7am and 1pm at our premises,” said Dr. Salim.

At present two mobile blood collection campaigns are held daily at different locations. Mobile blood donation teams tour the country. There are two Blood Donor Centres, one at Bayt Al Dhiyafah and the other at the Surgical Speciality Centre. 

Blood Donor Centre at Bayt Al Dhiyafah in Medical City is open from Sunday to Thursday 8am to 1pm and 6pm to 11.30pm and from 7pm to 11.30pm on Saturdays. The Satellite Blood Donor Centre (opposite Surgical Specialty Center) is open from Sunday to Thursday between 6pm to 11.30pm and from 7pm to 11.30pm on Saturdays. 

The blood donor collection unit at Bayt Al Diyafah is for male whole blood donors, the New Blood Donor Centre opposite to the Surgical Specialty is dedicated for female whole blood donors and male Platelet Apheresis donors.

Dr. Salim stressed that HMC has always prioritised the safety of blood donors and the infection control practices are in place. “We use high tech equipment that maintain the best safety quality practice to ensure the blood processing are safe and in compliance to international standards. We comply to AABB standard (Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapy),” she said. 

“It is safe to donate blood due to many reasons, all items used during each donation are single use and disposed immediately in a safe manner. The collected blood is then screened for any diseases; moreover, we follow all COVID19 protocols to ensure that all donors have a safe blood donation experience,” Dr. Salim added. 

To be able to donate blood, a donor must be healthy, adult not less than 17 years of age, with no significant chronic illness or previous infections, with the body weight of not less than 50kg and hemoglobin level of not less than 13g for male and 12.5 for female.

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