Image used for representation only
Hamad Medical Corporation’s Qatar Blood Services (QBS) has increased the capacity of mobile blood donation units to meet the increasing demand for blood and blood products and in preparation of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, said a senior official.
QBS has added three new mobile blood donation units which are well-equipped and have more capacity to collect and store blood, said Executive Director, Transfusion Medicine Division, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), Dr. Aysha Ibrahim Al Malki, while speaking to The Peninsula.
QBS is the sole entity for collection and distribution of blood and blood products for all hospitals and healthcare clinics in Qatar. At present QBS has five mobile donor units.
“With the increasing demand for blood and blood products and in preparation of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, QBS has added three new mobile donor trucks that are furnished with state-of-the-art equipment, and capacity to host a bigger number of donors,” said Dr. Al Malki.
Also the QBS collection center has recently relocated to a spacious location that offers internationally recognised services in compliance to standards set by accreditation bodies Association for the Advancement of Blood and Biotherapies and College of American Pathologists.
“The staff at QBS are experts in this field and are dedicated to ensuring that every donor is well attended to and they are happy to respond to any queries and requests,” said Dr. Al Malki.
According to Dr. Al Malki, QBS has a vast number of dedicated voluntary donors from different ethnicity.
“Our blood donors comprise of individuals donors, community-based associations, government ministries, diplomatic missions, public and private organisations, and the Qatar armed forces. They have constantly stood by QBS and supported in the aim to deliver blood to those in need. We are always grateful to our donors,” she said.
Dr. Al Malki, recalled that to mark the World Blood Donor Day 2022 (WBDD), QBS organised 11 blood collection campaigns between June 14 and June 17, under the World Health Organization WBDD slogan ‘Donating blood is an act of solidarity; Join the effort and save lives’.
“We thank all those who selflessly donated blood on this day and helped make the event a successful celebration,” she said.
“We urge and invite everyone to participate in this noble act of blood donation. If you are interested to donate, please visit either of the Qatar Blood Donor Centers, our well-trained staff members will be happy to receive you and guide you through the blood collection process. If you are unable to visit us, do take a moment to join our community blood collection campaigns under the theme ‘Qatar, it’s in our blood,” she 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 50 kg and haemoglobin level of not less than 13 g for male and 12.5 g for female. On the day of the donation, the donor must be free of symptoms of fever and coughs or any other infection and they must have adequate hours of sleep.
