More than 41,000 people in Dubai donated blood between January 2020 and 18 August 2020, according to the figures shared recently by Dubai Health Authority (DHA).
DHA’s Blood Donation Centre collected donations from a total of 41,635 donors, with around 104 double red cells donation and 3,195 platelets apheresis units collected during this time. Meanwhile, 42,493 blood units were issued, with 15,534 blood units distributed to private hospitals in the emirate and 26,959 blood units issued to DHA hospitals. Both public and private hospitals received 3,973 platelets units and 8,529 plasmas units.
DHA’s Blood Donation Centre also played an important part in collecting Convalescent Plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients, as 195 people donated plasma successfully during the pandemic. The centre has extended its hours to accommodate more customers, and is currently operational from 7am to 8:30pm, Sunday to Thursday. To help observe social distancing, a tent has been set up to collect blood.
Speaking about this initiative, CEO of DHA’s Clinical Support Services and Nursing Sector, Dr Farida Al Khaja said, “The tent can smoothly process 70-250 donors a day. The centre has a spacious waiting area and post-donation refreshment area. It is equipped with 12 beds and modern medical equipment. It also has a personal sanitisation tunnel, thermal camera and follows a frequent cleaning policy for beds and surfaces after each donor.”
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She further added, “The Centre constantly strives to ensure that a sufficient supply of blood is available for patients in need by putting in place the best practices to enhance the safety of blood transfusion. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, we have put in place new conditions for donating blood, which includes deferral for those coming from abroad from donating blood for two weeks to ensure the safety of donors and recipients of blood.”