RIYADH, 12 June 2008 — The Kingdom will build an SR320-million National Health Laboratory in Riyadh, which should be completed by the end of 2009, according to Abdullah Zamil Al-Drees, deputy minister for laboratories and blood banks.
The National Health Laboratory will be an integrated one covering all types of testing related to blood, diseases, food, poison and medicines, said Al-Drees, who was addressing a press conference here on Tuesday with the ministry’s spokesman Dr. Khaled Al-Mirghalani.
He added that the proposed 132,000-square-meter laboratory, which will have five towers, will be built on land donated by Crown Prince Sultan, deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation.
He said construction, equipment and development of human resources will cost SR230 million, and SR70 million will be spent on setting up of state-of-the-art laboratories in the complex. He added that the Ministry of Health has plans to set up similar facilities in Dammam and Jeddah.
Speaking about blood donation in Saudi Arabia, Al-Drees said the Kingdom solely depends on local volunteers. “Last year, there were 264,000 people who donated blood. This included 500 Saudi men and women who had donated blood more than 50 times,” he said.
He added that the Kingdom honored these 500 donors with special certificates and medals. The medals were the Kingdom’s top honor awarded by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to people who make significant contributions to the Kingdom.
Al-Drees said that Riyadh Gov. Prince Salman, who has donated blood more than 13 times, initiated the blood donation campaign in the capital. “Because of public cooperation, we have no shortage of blood in the Kingdom. We also reserve around 12,000 bottles of blood for use during the annual pilgrimage,” he said.
The deputy minister said strict measures are in place when dealing with donated blood, making the Kingdom one of the world’s safest countries in blood storage and transfusion.
Commenting on compulsory premarital blood tests, Al-Drees said the ministry last year tested the blood of 271,000 prospective couples.
He said that the Ministry of Health — in cooperation with the US-based Food and Drug Authority (FDA) — has recently embarked on a research program, whereby the ministry will evaluate the functions of the Kingdom’s blood banks and explore new areas of improvements, including the introduction of DNA tests. Around 20 local and foreign researchers will participate in this project, he added.
The ministry tested 3,071 medicines last year, rejecting 659 of them for want of proper quality and standards.
All 173 blood banks nationwide are dependant on local donations. In accordance with a strategy adopted since 1987, blood donation campaigns are organized and carried out annually to avoid dependence on imported blood.
