JEDDAH — According to a recently published report, hundreds of HIV and hepatitis cases were discovered in 2006 when thousands of people volunteered to donate blood across the Kingdom. The report further suggested that the discoveries indicated a growth in the number of cases of blood diseases in Saudi Arabia — something that medical sources say is incorrect.
One of those health professionals who dispute that assumption is Dr. Hind Al-Humaidan, director of Blood Bank and Transfusion Services and consultant hematopathologist at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Riyadh. “I don’t believe there is an increase in cases of HIV or hepatitis. When we ask donors to donate, we make them go through several screening processes. We also give them a two-page questionnaires to verify their health conditions and backgrounds,” she said.
She added that some questions relate to behavior, which help indicate whether a person has HIV or hepatitis. “Several other questions are also asked just to ensure the donor is safe and able to donate,” she added.
Speaking about a shortage of blood at hospitals and blood banks, Al-Humaidan said this was due to a lack of donors. “We have to find enough donors every day to meet our needs,” she said.
“To reach donors and convince them to donate takes time. This is our day-to-day problem. We don’t pay for blood, so we end up visiting patient’s families, or sending mobile blood donation trucks to busy places such as malls,” said Al-Humaidan.
“Thankfully, there are people who donate blood. However, donors are few when the weather is bad, or when its dusty,” she said, adding that blood that is donated is tested for blood diseases.
Al-Humaidan says the risk of transferring such diseases is very low. “The standards at KFSH are very high. Our department is accredited by the American Association of blood banks and we follow international standards,” she said.
When asked whether health institutions could possibly contribute to spreading diseases due to not meeting required health and safety regulations, Al-Humaidan said that clinics do not collect blood and that the level of screening differs from one hospital to another. “I believe there is no increase in blood diseases. Hospitals operate several screening tests when donating blood,” she added. “Our blood bank only provides blood for our facilities. The only hospital we deal with is the National Guard Hospital, because they operate at the same level of standard. Sometimes, we provide blood to other hospitals if we have surplus stock,” said Al-Humaidan.
Dr. Khaled Mansour, director of the National Charity Society for Blood and the Jeddah Charity Blood Bank (which is expected to launch in September), told Arab News that his organization’s main mission is to provide free services in the transfer of blood to hospitals.
“Each donor is subjected to a comprehensive medical examination with the latest techniques before and after the donation process. The tests certainly include HIV, hepatitis and venereal diseases, particularly syphilis,” said Dr. Mansour.
Mansour believes that a lack of donors is the main reason behind a shortage of blood in hospitals. “In the absence of blood donation awareness, there is a shortage of blood,” he added. “Hopefully, when we launch the bank, we’ll be able to work with the media to spread awareness and encourage healthy people to donate blood regularly,” he said. According to blood banks, a Royal Decree prevents hospitals from importing blood from abroad.
