HMC's new location of Blood Donor Center accommodates 200 donors at a time
Whenever the Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) comes up with blood donation campaigns, it is well received and hundreds of people turn up.
HMC’s new Blood Donor Center, based in its new permanent location, boasts of expanded facilities that can receive more donors at a time and enable them to donate blood and blood components easily and conveniently.
Dr Aysha Ibrahim Almalki, Executive Director of Blood Transfusion Services at HMC, said the Blood Donor Center moved to the new location due to a steady increase in blood donors over the last few years.
“More youth and community members are now coming forward to donate blood and they’re holding blood donation drives. It’s our vision to establish a national blood collection center with state-of-the-art facilities,” Dr Almalki was quoted as saying.
“The facility’s new location was selected keeping the blood donors’ convenience in mind. It’s strategically located with access from two main streets of Doha (Al Rayyan Road and Mohammed Bin Thani Street),” she said.
The Blood Donor Center has moved to a new permanent home at the West Energy Center near Sports Intersection.
— مؤسسة حمد الطبية (@HMC_Qatar) February 26, 2023
Opening hours for the new Center are:
Sunday to Thursday, 7am to 9:30pm
Friday, Closed
Saturday, 8am to 2pm pic.twitter.com/0Qt3PnO6Lx
The new Blood Donor Center can accommodate up to 200 donors at a time, up from just 25 earlier.
“The vast space on offer in the new center will enable more organisations and communities to host blood donation drives at the facility itself. This is in the event of lack of space or when mobile blood collection trucks are unavailable,” she said.
The new center has comprehensive facilities dedicated to male and female donors with separate receptions, waiting areas, interview rooms, blood collection rooms, and post-donation resting areas. It can also accommodate 200 vehicles.
The new center will host the collection of all types of blood and blood products all under one roof. There are also plans to install self-registration kiosks for donors in the coming days.
Dr Almalki said around 80 blood donors arrive at the center a day on average. The numbers increase on days when specific blood types are required.
The center will receive blood donors from 6pm to 12 midnight during the holy month of Ramadan.
HMC and the Al Faisal Without Borders Foundation (ALF), which signed a Memorandum of Understanding last year, launched a Ramadan blood donation campaign, which will continue throughout the holy month and Eid holidays.
“We’ve a dedicated blood donation drive at City Center mall throughout Ramadan, where blood donors can register and donate daily from 7.30pm to 12 midnight. Blood collection trucks are also periodically based at malls and public parks like Corniche and Aspire,” said Dr. Almalki.
In 2021, Qatar had announced that it had attained 100 per cent blood self-sufficiency for more than 10 years due to the high number of voluntary blood donors.
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