This year’s blood donation campaign took place through the month of Ramadhan and into the Eid al Fitr holidays. A total of 2,264 people donated blood throughout the campaign while 3,054 new registrations were received.
The campaign was part of the Blood Donor Centre’s efforts at fostering a culture of voluntary blood donation throughout the community. “During the campaign, we organised a series of blood donation events in shopping malls and other prominent locations around the country. We also took our campaign to national organizations as well as social and cultural centers with a large number of visitors taking part,” said Sediqeh al-Mahmoudi, Medical Manager of HMC’s Blood Donor Center.
“We would like to thank those members of the public who registered as blood donors as well as community groups and companies who supported our efforts. We would also like to thank HE Sheikh Faisal bin Qassim al-Thani, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Al Faisal Without Borders Foundation who has supported our campaign for four years.”
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| Source: Hamad Medical Corporation. The Qatar Organ Donation Center. |
More than 44,000 new organ donors signed up to Qatar’s pioneering Organ Donor Registry during Ramadhan, more than double last year’s total for the same period. This brings the total number of people on the Organ Donor Register, which is unique in the region, to more than 148,000 registrations. Qatar is one of the few countries in the region offering integrated organ transplant services, on the basis of a single, unified national waiting list.
During Ramadhan more than 450 HMC staff worked to educate the community about organ donation at booths across 14 shopping centres. They also shared information about the importance of the programme and provided new donors with their donor card on the spot.
“The aim of the campaign was to inform people about organ donation, answer their questions and let them know that living donation* is safe,” said Dr Riadh Fadhil, Director of Qatar Organ Donation Center. “The educators were also able to speak to the community about deceased donations* and the importance of informing your family about your wishes.
“We are proud of the Doha model of organ donation and the successful strategies that were designed to address our challenges in Qatar. This model has now become internationally recognised as both safe and ethical,” Dr Fadhil said.
“We encourage all residents in Qatar to register as an organ donor and if they have a patient related to them, to look for a living organ donor within the family. Organ donation is a societal responsibility that needs collaboration to achieve self-sufficiency and to treat all our patients.”
Interested?
The HMC Blood Donor Center is located on the grounds of Hamad General Hospital near the multi-storey carpark. Visit the centre between 7am and 9:30pm daily to register as a blood donor or to give blood. Call +974 4439 1081 for more information.
Register as an organ donor
*Deceased donors are those who have pledged during their life to give organs to someone in need. They include cases in which the family agrees on organ donation after the person’s death. Living donors donate a kidney or part of the liver while they are alive.