Dubai, UAE: With more and more private hospitals being set up in Dubai — which is leading to a growth in international patient traffic in the emirate — the need for blood transfusions is steadily going up.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) stipulates that one to two per cent of the population in every city must be a donor to fulfil the demand for blood. “We have reached about 1.98 per cent of the population and we just need to be ahead of the needs,” said Dr Laila Al Shaer, head of the Dubai Blood Donation Centre (DBDC), which plays a seminal role in meeting the blood transfusion needs of Dubai and the northern emirates.
The DBDC keeps inventories, monitors the needs of fresh blood components for patients of thalassaemia, sickle cell anaemia and different cancers and trauma patients.
With more than 200 volunteers donating blood daily on a regular basis and several blood donation drives held around the city, DBDC manages to meet the needs of the community and has stopped paid blood donations completely.
Dr Laila explained: “The total blood content in a male is about six litres and a female is four litres. Donation of about 450cc of blood cannot hurt anyone. In fact it helps stimulates more blood production. A volunteer donates whole blood and this one unit can save many lives as it is processed into different components — red blood cells, plasma, platelets and cryoprecipitates where each component fulfils the needs of different patients,” she added.
Once a donor donates blood, its components are separated and a sample is tested before distribution processing. The test screens the blood for infectious markers such as HIV, HCV, syphilis, HTLV (Human T-cell lymphotropic Lymphate Virus). It is also put through immune-haematology screening to determine the blood group and antibodies.
Quality control is key, said Dr Laila. “The blood product sample is put through quality testing [international standards are used in this testing as per the parameters laid down by the American Association of Blood Banks]. For instance, an element called hematocrit is tested and, if the blood is found low in that, it cannot be used for thalassaemia patients. As a blood bank, we are not just using blood blindly for transfusions but ensuring good quality blood is given to provide a better quality of life to our patient.”
The logistics
Dr Laila added: “The need for blood is increasing in the emirates as more and more private hospitals are coming up and depend on us for blood requirements. Blood is collected in the centre and outside with our mobile vans. Eighty to ninety per cent of the blood collection happens outside the centre in blood donation camps.”
Ninety per cent of the blood collected is used. Sensing the need for more blood collection, DBDC has expanded its collection area from four to 18 beds, a facility which will be opened soon. “We maintain an inventory of blood components. We also supply to 48 private hospitals. If we do not have the required amount or need a specific blood type, we call our volunteers to donate. Until 2011, we had paid donations, paying Dh200 to a donor for a single unit of blood. However, educational and awareness campaigns has yielded many volunteers and many organisations have come forward to organise blood donation drives in their premises. As a result, paid blood donations have been stopped.”
Collecting platelets
Sometimes donors are encouraged to donate only platelets which are in greater demand. Through an advanced technique called apheresis, the donor patient’s blood is collected, platelets are isolated and the rest of the blood is redirected to the donor patient. “Demand for platelets is high and this process enables a person to be ready to donate blood platelets once every three weeks,” said Dr Laila.
The blood donation centre monitors the demand for blood. “If we, for instance, know our volunteers are to go on a vacation, and knowing there will be a shortfall in summer, we will get them to donate earlier and those who are available in the summer months we will request them to donate later. A donated unit has a shelf life of 42 days after which we have to discard the red blood cells. Fresh frozen plasma can be preserved for a year,” added Dr Laila.
The DBDC maintains a high quality of blood at all times. “For instance, in the case of Tthalassaemia patients, blood has to be given to them within seven days of donation.”
Motivating community members
At present, DBDC has about 200 donors daily and needs more whole blood donors, especially for O negative blood group. “We encourage healthy O negative donors to donate blood regularly. There are minimum donors for this blood group and maximum demand for it,” said Dr Laila.
© Gulf News
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