Getting involved: DUHS encourages voluntary blood donation

Prof. Masood Hameed Khan cited voluntary and non-remunerated blood collection as the cornerstone of safe blood supply.

KARACHI:

The Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) has set up the “Dow Safe Blood Donor Club 25”, which is focused on promoting voluntary blood donation among youth between the ages of 16 to 25 years.

According to officials, many medical students have already joined the club. The idea behind the club is to build a stable donor programme by motivating and recruiting new donors from the low-risk population and encouraging existing or lapsed donor to become regular again.



A walk and seminar in this regard was also arranged at the DUHS Ojha Campus. Dr Zainab Mukhtar Hussain Sangji, the blood safety consultant at the DUHS Sale Blood Transfusion Services Project, said that the initiative aimed to provide safe blood to needy patients. She discussed benefits of blood donation for the donors.

The walk, that started from the Dow University hospital and ended at Dow International Medical College, was attended by a large number of students, paramedical staff, nurses, faculty members and administrative staff of the university.

Prof. Masood Hameed Khan cited voluntary and non-remunerated blood collection as the cornerstone of safe and sufficient blood supply. Regular voluntary blood donations are the safest source of blood, he said, adding that the chances of blood borne infections were less among donors than in people who donated for family members in emergencies or who were paid for the donation.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 25^th, 2013.