Launch of the 2nd blood donation campaign in Rabat

The second edition of the "Dami Howa Damak" (My blood is your blood) blood donation caravan was launched at the beginning of the week in Rabat, at the initiative of the "Youth of the 21st Century" Association, with the aim of raising awareness among Moroccan youth about the culture of blood donation.

This caravan, organized in partnership with the National Blood Transfusion Centre (CNTS), also aims to promote blood donation as a civic and humanitarian action capable of saving many lives.

In a statement to the MAP on this occasion, Dr. Radi El Bachir, the doctor in charge of blood donation at the CNTS, emphasized the importance of raising awareness about the culture of blood donation to cope with the deficit that blood transfusion centers may suffer at any time due to the growing need for blood products, specifying in this sense that the daily needs of the Rabat CNTS vary between 250 to 300 bags of blood.

He also stressed the need for regular blood donations throughout the year, explaining that men are able to donate blood 5 times a year without risk, and women 4 times.

"It is not enough to donate blood during occasional campaigns," he added, affirming that regular donors must be retained in order to guarantee a safety stock at the national level covering the whole year.

Noting that this regularity is required, given the perishable nature of blood, Dr. El Bachir pointed out that the shelf life of platelets is 5 days, while that of red blood cells is 40 days.

For his part, the president of the "Youth of the 21st Century" Association, Aziz El Fekkaki, affirmed that blood donation is a humanitarian gesture that strengthens the bonds of solidarity between citizens, adding that this caravan aims to supply the safety stock of the various blood transfusion centers with blood products in order to cover three weeks of needs at the national level.

Provider / Source : Libération