JEDDAH: The Ministry of Health and the Savola Group’s HyperPanda have joined hands to launch a new blood donation drive to supplement all-round efforts to meet the demand for blood in possible emergencies during Haj.
“It is difficult to estimate how much blood will be required during Haj, but we hope to mobilize maximum efforts to see that we have enough stocks to meet needs,” said Sami M. Badawood, general director of the Health Ministry’s Directorate of Health Affairs in Jeddah.
“Twenty minutes could save lives,” is the slogan for the campaign that will be conducted at Panda outlets across the Kingdom over the next five days.
The Ministry of Health has sent staff to select Panda and HyperPanda stores in the Kingdom to carry out the campaign.
Badawood said that with this new campaign the ministry would be supplementing its efforts in providing as much blood as is required for the Haj season.
The Ministry of Health has been conducting its own blood donation campaigns in various parts of the Kingdom and is encouraging private agencies to participate, he said. He further complimented Panda for initiating the campaign as part of its corporate social responsibility. “Such efforts save us from plying mobile vans to collect blood. We can reach many more donors this way,” he added.
The Ministry of Health has a unique way of honoring blood donors by distributing certificates. “It does not allow anyone to sell blood,” he said, calling on all able-bodied and disease-free people to come forward.
The Ministry of Health has opened blood donation centers at 21 Panda and HyperPanda outlets across the Kingdom. In the Western Region, the campaign is being conducted in cooperation with Rahma Charity.
