United Arab Emirates, Dubai, February 10, 2012: The Al Muhaisnah Medical Fitness Centre of the Dubai Health Authority, organised today a blood donation campaign to support this humanitarian initiative.
Hundreds of visitors and staff members took part in the day-long campaign to donate blood.
Maisa Al Bustani, Director of Medical Fitness at the DHA said, “We are overwhelmed with the turnout. We would like to express our gratitude, thanks and heartfelt appreciation to the noble gesture demonstrated by our Ruler, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, his donation which has led to a surge in the number of people donating blood. We would like to thank the community for supporting us in this initiative as blood is a product that has a limited shelf life, that cannot be bought or imported and hence regular voluntary blood donations is the only method to ensure a continuous supply of blood.”
Bustani said the DHA will organise regular blood donation campaigns across the 16 medical fitness centres in 2012. “We have realised that people who come for a medical fitness test, find it convenient to donate blood because they have already taken time out for a medical fitness test and they only need to spend about ten to fifteen minutes longer to donate blood.”
Bustani added that it is important to support the blood donation centre as it is the only and central blood donation centre for the Emirate of Dubai. It supplies blood and blood products to all private and governmental hospitals in the Emirate of Dubai, this includes over 27 private and government hospitals in Dubai.
The DBDC blood collection amounts to 50% of the total blood collected in the UAE. Fourty five per cent of this blood is used for Thalassemia patients and 27 per cent is used for Trauma patients.