A massive blood donation campaign was held in Riyadh on Friday to help Umrah pilgrims who visit the holy city of Makkah during Ramadan.
King Fahd Medical City (KFMC), which functions under the Ministry of Health, teamed up with Tamil Nadu Thowheed Jamaath (TNTJ) in Riyadh province and collected almost 110 liters of blood from 253 volunteers at the hospital premises during the weekend.
The event took place at KFMC’s blood bank in Riyadh with the help of a large number of donors from the Asian community.
The Ministry of Health does not import blood from abroad. Blood is collected from residents and citizens who regularly donate it.
The 20 health directorates in the Kingdom make their own arrangements with donors.
An official from the Health Ministry said the Kingdom’s blood banks have sufficient reserves of blood for all blood groups.
He added Friday's donation campaign is part of its contingency plan to increase blood stocks for pilgrims who will come for Umrah this year.
He added: “At present we have 9,000 units of blood in addition to a sufficient number of units of fresh frozen plasma, platelets and deposits of cold plasma.”
The official said there are 152 blood banks throughout the Kingdom including 15 central blood banks, 17 large blood banks and 120 covering all regions and governorates in the Kingdom.
Speaking about the Friday's blood donation campaign, TNTJ President for Riyadh Faisal Mohamed told Arab News that this was the 19th such blood donation campaign sponsored by his organization.
He added: “The noble act of donating blood will not only give a new lease of life to many, it also heightens our common sense of social responsibility by fulfilling the humanitarian and social needs of our local communities.”
Mohamed added the organization not only conducts such camps regularly but also arranges supplies of blood for emergency purposes.
Campaign spokesman Mohamed Maheen said Umrah pilgrims who suddenly fall ill or have accidents could require blood and the campaign would go a long way toward helping them.
Arrangements have been made with the hospital to ensure the collected blood reaches Makkah, he said.
He added: “We are guided by the Qur’anic teaching that says: ‘And whoever saves a life, it is as though he had saved the life of all mankind.'”
He said the organizers received an overwhelming response from community members from Kerala, Hyderabad, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
Voluntary donors from the Pakistani, Sri Lankan, Bangladeshi, Filipino and Syrian communities also participated.
A standard health screening procedure was carried out prior to the extraction of blood.
Each donor underwent tests for blood pressure, glucose and hemoglobin count before extraction. The checks also included testing for communicable diseases.
More than 15 TNTJ volunteers who own vehicles helped ferry donors to the blood bank. The campaign started at 9 a.m. and finished at 5 p.m.
Donating blood is a fast and simple procedure. Blood donors can donate up to 450 ml of blood (one unit) every two and half to three months.
This amount is small, given that the body contains five to six liters (10 to 12 units) of blood. The full blood donation procedure, takes no longer than 30 minutes.
There are a number of different blood types, including O positive and negative, A positive and negative, B positive and negative, AB positive and negative.
Distribution may be different for specific racial and ethnic groups, but in an emergency, anyone can receive type O negative red blood cells.
Therefore people with type O blood are known as “universal donors” and those with type AB blood are known as “universal recipients”.
An official from the General Directorate of Blood Banks and Laboratories said donors can donate blood at their own convenience. He pointed out that 20,000 voluntary blood donors have been awarded the Third Degree Medal by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah for their services to the nation.
Every year more than 500,000 voluntary blood donors are registered with blood banks throughout the Kingdom.
Volunteers donate blood for pilgrims
