DOHA - Increasing accidents, more surgeries and establishment of several new hospitals have generated a huge demand for blood in Qatar.
To meet this increasing demand, the Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) is launching a campaign during the holy month of Ramadan encouraging people to donate blood.
The campaign will kick off tomorrow with a blood donation drive for HMC staff at its premises. Senior officials, doctors and a number of other HMC employees are expected to take part in the event.
The campaign activities were announced by Sadiqa Al Mahmoudi, Supervisor of HMC's Blood Donor Unit and Dr Nasir Al Ansari, Chief of Staff at HMC, at a press conference held on Thursday.
Jarvis Hoult, Executive Director, Hamad General Hospital and Dr Ibrahim Al Hijji, Consultant, Clinical Hematology at Al Amal Hospital, were also present.
The officials said the purpose of the campaign was to ensure sufficient stock of blood groups and platelets all year round.
There are three main factors that have caused a huge increase in the demand for blood in Qatar -- Increasing cases of traffic and worksite accidents, more diseases and surgeries and the opening of new hospitals, especially the Al Amal Hospital.
"If we do not work hard we will have a bigger problem in future," said Ansari, while urging the public to actively participate in the campaign.
"There are still several misunderstandings among the people about donating blood. Some people believe that they will lose blood by donation. In fact, the blood cells of a donor will be replaced within a short period. In religion it is a noble thing to save a life by donating blood. That is why we are launching this campaign during the holy month of Ramadan ," said Al Ansari.
He said HMC has not been giving any monetary incentives to the donors, following the international practice. Some Western countries used to give monetary rewards to donors, but now they have stopped it because such incentives would encourage the wrong type of people to donate blood. Drug addicts and people affected with infectious diseases would come to donate blood just for money.
Hoult urged people to "become regular donors" to maintain the necessary levels of blood at the HMC blood bank. Sadiqa said the Blood Donor Unit has been receiving an average of 50 to 60 donors every day. It goes up to 70 to 80 on certain days.
On several occasions, HMC faced crises due to the shortage of certain groups of blood especially in the RH-negative category. On such occasions, HMC had sought assistance from the army to get the particular group of blood, said Sadiqa.
During Ramadan, the blood unit at HMC will function in two shifts -- from 8am to 1pm and from 6pm to 12pm. Those who are fasting can donate blood in the evening hours after Iftar. Any healthy person aged above 18 years can become a donor, said the officials.
Apart from issuing public appeals, the Blood Donor Unit is in regular contact with companies and community organisations. "We have a list of all the major companies and organisations and we are sending them direct invitations to participate in the forthcoming campaign," Sadiqa later told The Peninsula.
The schedule for blood donation campaigns during Ramadan is as follows: September 19: Restaurants Complex- Ramada Signal; September 20: Souq Waqef; September 21: Doha Youth Centre: September 22: LuLu Hypermarket Parking; September 23: Environment Friends Centre; September 24: Al Rayah Newspaper; September 25: Red Crescent Society; September 26: City Centre Complex; September 27: Al Jasrah Club; September 28: Doha Corniche -Near Doha Sheraton; September 29: Hyatt Plaza; September 30: Jassim bin Jabr Charity Society; October 1: Eid bin Mohamed Al Thani Charity Society; October 2: Qatar Charity; October 3: Al Sharq Newspaper; October 4: Ras Al Nasaa Restaurant; October 5: Qatar Red Crescent; October 6: Fishermen Restaurant; October 7: Al Watan Newspaper; September 8: Qatar Red Crescent; October 9: Diplomatic Club; October 10: Qatar Volunteer Centre; October 11: Accommodation Complex-Abu Hamour.
© The Peninsula 2007
