KUWAIT CITY, Aug 2: The Ministry of Health stressed the need to promote a culture of blood donation to save lives, and to recognize the value of voluntary blood donation to highlight noble human values by preferring others over oneself. In a statement to reporters Wednesday, on the sidelines of the inauguration of the blood donation campaign, “Together forever, wall of the homeland 8,” the Assistant Undersecretary of MoH for External Health Services Affairs Dr. Yaqoub Al-Tamar underlined the need to promote a culture of blood donation by urging citizens to follow this behavior, which is crucial for saving the lives and the development of health services.

The ministry has always supported services related to blood transfusion and strives to raise awareness about the need to donate and organize campaigns throughout the year, he said, indicating that the ministry is represented by the Blood Transfusion Services Department, working on assessing Kuwait’s needs for blood annually according to international standards and drawing plans and strategies for the country’s future projects in this regard.

Such campaigns are only a continuation of the year-round campaigns carried out by MoH to activate community partnership, promote the principle of social solidarity, and promote awareness about the importance of blood donation to enhance the strategic stock of the blood bank, Dr. Al-Tamar added. He pointed out that this campaign comes out of remembrance of the memory of the brutal invasion of Kuwait and the role of righteous martyrs who sacrificed their blood and to encourage community participation with various institutions.

Statement
In a similar statement, the medical Director of the Blood Transfusion Services Department Dr. Hanan Al-Awadi confirmed that the campaign is witnessing, since the early morning, an excellent turnout, especially from members of the military institutions. Evoking the memory of the brutal Iraqi invasion of Kuwait means giving, and there is no better way than donating blood to save lives that are in dire need of every drop of blood, she pointed out.

Dr. Al-Awadhi referred to the need for blood banks with all its types, especially since the expiry date of blood is only one month, pointing to the constant need to donate on an ongoing basis, calling on every person who is able to donate blood to donate. The doors of the blood bank are always open and on all days to receive donors on a regular basis, she noted. Regarding the quantities of blood donations this year compared to last year, she explained that this is better than last year, as the rate of increase during the period from January to July of this year ranged between 59 and 60 percent compared to last year for the same period.

In turn, the Head of the Public Relations Department in Kuwait Fire Force (KFF) Colonel Yousef Ghuloom said that today KFF is participating in the national campaign to donate blood organized by MoH. He explained that this participation comes from the national and societal role of KFF to unite the concept of social solidarity and humanitarian work by supporting and strengthening the strategic stock of the blood bank, in a way that contributes to treating patients and saving lives, pointing to the presence of a wide participation of firefighters who come throughout the day. (KUNA)