JEDDAH, 11 June 2007 — The King Abdul Aziz University Hospital is celebrating the World Blood Donation Day on Wednesday at the hospital’s auditorium. The event will include lectures on how blood is donated and its advantages to donors.
The rest of the world is celebrating the day on Thursday. Celebrations at the King Abdul Aziz University Hospital were brought forward by a day because of the official Saudi weekend.
The Ministry of Health is also marking the day on June 19 at the King Abdul Aziz Historical Center in Riyadh under the slogan “Blood Donation Is Extreme Generosity.” The event is being held under the support of Riyadh Gov. Prince Salman.
“Prince Salman, who has donated blood more than 10 times, is very interested in the event,” said ministry spokesman Dr. Khaled Mirghalani. This year’s event will focus on the importance of donating blood to save the lives of mothers and newborns. The event will include honoring blood donors with medals.
The degree of the medals will differ according to the number of donations.
“This technique aims to encourage people to donate their blood regularly,” Mirghalani said.
The Kingdom has 250 blood banks in different regions hosting 400,000 donors per year.
