Qatar is 100 percent self-sufficient for more than 10 years and the country relies entirely on local volunteer donors due to the high number of voluntary blood donors.

The Qatar Blood Services at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) gets an average of 150-250 blood units each day from voluntary donors, with over 21,073 new donors registered since the beginning of the year.

According to Siddiqa Al Mahmoudi, Medical Director of the Blood Donor Centre at HMC, “Safe blood and blood products and their transfusion are a critical aspect of care in our healthcare system. They save lives and improve the health and quality of life of many patients every day.

"We in Qatar have a large number of voluntary blood donors and we are proud of them, and they are the greatest achievement of this generous country. With their support we have saved hundreds of patients,” she added.

“Our donors are our biggest pillar. Most of them donate blood on a regular basis.  During the weekdays we receive between 150 and 250 blood units from the donors and it increases up to 300 units on weekends,” she said.

Under the tagline "Qatar is our blood," Qatar Blood Services initiated a statewide campaign in December to urge citizens and residents to become regular blood donors, and it has enrolled more than 5200 volunteer blood donors through April-May.

Al Mahmoudi explained that blood donation in Qatar is both easy and safe, and it is a simple medical procedure that is carried out by following international practices. Moreover, there are no complications or side effects to the donor.

"To ensure that the process of donation is safe, potential donors are very carefully assessed for suitability before they can donate and to make sure that the procedure carries no hazard to the donors,” said Al Mahmoudi.

To donate blood, a person must be a healthy adult who is at least 17 years old, has no serious chronic sickness or past infections, has a bodyweight of at least 50 kilograms, and has a hemoglobin level of at least 13 grams for males and 12.5 grams for females.

The donor must be free of fever, cough, or any other infection on the day of the donation and must have gotten enough sleep.

Al Mahmoudi also acknowledged the thousands of people who donate blood on a regular basis and encouraged everyone in the community to think about becoming a blood donor.

Qatar Blood Services has increased precautionary steps to guarantee that all blood donations are safe during the COVID-19 epidemic, including mandatory pre-screening before entering blood donation centers and regular cleaning and disinfection of all surfaces and equipment.

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Source: The Peninsula