More than 150 donate blood ahead of New Year

Members of eight clubs donate blood during drive organised by Pakistan Association Dubai on December 2017
More than 150 residents of different nationalities gathered on Friday to donate



blood at the Pakistan Association Dubai (PAD) for the Dubai Blood Donation Centre.

The blood donation drive, organised by the Medical Wing of PAD, was attended by members of eight social clubs registered in Dubai. “As we move from the Year of Giving towards the Year of Zayed, our commitment towards community service is stronger than ever. Our vision for the not-for-profit Pakistan Medical Centre is to serve people of all nationalities with state-of-the-art health services,” Dr Faisal Ikram, president of PAD, said.

He also added that the support of the Community Development Authority (CDA) of Dubai throughout all the activities has been tremendous giving them confidence at every step.

The blood donation drive is an important life-saving exercise that should involve everyone, Dr Nighat Aftab, president of the Medical Wing of PAD, said.

“I am a gynaecologist, I know how much blood is needed for an operation, plus there are trauma and blood cancer cases here. We are doing this blood donation drive to help as the New Year holiday is coming and there will be no donors. So at least we can collect that much blood during this time,” Dr Aftab told Gulf News.
“Giving blood saves lives, that’s the most important thing,” she added.

Dr Aftab encouraged other residents to donate blood as the process is easy and will only take less than 30 minutes. A screening process is carried out where the blood pressure is checked and other assessments are done before the actual blood donation takes place.

Since the Emirates ID of the donor is used, the initial screening process for any infectious diseases is already covered.

Dr Aftab said most of the donors on Friday are from Dubai while others came from other emirates. The age range is between 18 and 65, but most of them are males in their 30s or 40s.
Rajesh Josh, one of the donors from Santhwanam, a social club registered under CDA, said some 20 of their members are present to donate.

“Blood is needed for life and whatever your race or colour, you can donate. We give blood because we are human beings. Personally, I’ve been doing it for the last 20 years. I’ve probably donated 25 times so far,” Josh said. “It takes a few minutes to save lives.”

    Pakistan Association Dubai. , Street 11b, Oud Metha Road,
    Bur Dubai ,
    United Arab Emirates
    04 2305000
    camera-videouserssmile linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram