ALTHOUGH there are many blood donation vehicles parked during the day in the streets of Cairo, especially outside Tube stations, people are still reluctant to donate their blood and save someone's life. Dr Hassan Youssef, who works at the National Centre for Blood Transfusions, admits that persuading citizens to donate their blood has become very difficult. “Patients who've had a serious accident or with kidney diseases or thalassemia often need a lot of blood,“ Youssef says, adding that women are more eager to donate their blood than men. The Centre is always urging citizens to donate their blood, organising seminars to acquaint them with the benefits of doing so. “The number of donors also falls at holiday time, but we've been boosting the number of our vehicles outside places like sports clubs to try and get more donors. We still only get very few,” he explains. The doctors ask the potential donors a number of questions, concerning illnesses and underlying diseases they might have, and then a sample is taken to ensure the donor's blood pressure is normal. “We have to turn down people suffering from chronic diseases or afflicted with influenza. Anyone with hypotension is also turned away,” stresses Dr Youssef, adding that many people are put off from donating, because they are afraid the equipment used is contaminated. Sarah Abdul-Fadeel, a nurse, told Arabic-newspaper Al-Akhbar that there is no need to be afraid of infection, as a fresh needle is used for every donation. Dr. Mohamed Abu Gad, a member of the blood Donation Association, points out that many people don't feel that they should be responsible for helping their fellow citizens who need blood. “We need to educate the public about the importance of donating blood. The media must help in this. We must also stop malpractices. For example, some blood banks, desperate for donations, take too much blood from individual donors, which is obviously very dangerous for them,” says Abu Gad. “Another problem is professional donors who sell their blood for LE50 [about $9] per bag. When I was studying medicine at university, I came across a lot of sick children, who desperately needed blood. That inspired me to try and encourage more people to become donors.”
