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More Than 16 Thousand Units of Blood and Blood Products to Supply Health Facilities in the Holy Places

22 October 2011

The Director-General of Blood Banks and Laboratories, and Chairman of Laboratories and Blood Banks Technical Supervisory Committee in Hajj, Dr. Ibrahim Abdulaziz Al Omar stated that the Ministry of Health has provided more than 16 thousand units of blood and blood products of all the different types to supply health facilities in Makkah and the Holy Places to serve pilgrims, if needed.

Dr. Al Omar clarified that health facilities have already been operated in the ports and roads leading into the Haram. They were operated after completing maintenance procedures, checking the working ability of laboratory equipments in health facilities and providing devices, laboratory equipments, detectors, and the equipments needed for operating devices to conduct required tests.

He added that Hajj preparations included an ambulance that is equipped with blood-transfusion apparatus to distribute it to health facilities in emergency situations, indicating that the expiration period of blood units is a minimum of 30 days from receiving them.

Moreover, he pointed out that the Ministry has prepared a number of hospitals in the surroundings of the Holy Places to provide a huge quantity of blood and blood products units in emergency situations. All hospitals in Jeddah and Taif were assigned to support them, if needed. On the other hand, surplus units of blood and blood products will be retrieved from the blood banks in the Holy Places hospitals and distributed to the blood banks in Makkah hospitals after the end of the Hajj season. In addition, laboratory equipments will be cleaned and stored using appropriate technical methods.

Dr. Al-Omar said: “The Ministry’s plan is focusing on diagnostic services. Moreover, MOH is seeking, through relevant committees, to complete the preparations and provide laboratories and blood banks with needed laboratory supplies to be operated during the Hajj season. This can be performed by early detecting of all laboratory equipments in the Holy Places health facilities, conducting required maintenance, ensuring their readiness and efficiency, operating laboratory devices and ensuring their validity no later than 20/11, supplying health facilities, located in Makkah, Madina and the Holy Places, with their needs of laboratory equipments and detectors, providing all equipments needed for operating devices to conduct required tests, in addition to applying standard samples program to verify the authenticity and accuracy of the laboratory tests results in the Holy Places health facilities."

In addition, the Ministry has applied, for the first time, a new medical technology that conducts a rapid detection of heart attacks in patients, by taking a blood sample and analyze it within 10 minutes.

The Ministry has developed its plans to collect huge quantities of all the different types of blood and blood products for 1432 Hajj season from all health regions in the Kingdom, through launching blood donation campaigns in the regions’ health facilities according to blood collection and transfusion guidelines in order to provide health facilities participating in the Hajj season with their needs of blood and blood products during the period from 25/11 to 6/12. In addition, the Ministry is working on providing more than 16 thousand units of blood and blood products of all the different types to supply health facilities in Makkah and the Holy Places, on one condition that the expiration period of blood units is a minimum of 30 days from receiving them. Hajj preparations have also included an ambulance that is equipped with blood-transfusion apparatus to distribute it to health facilities in emergency situations. In addition, the Ministry has prepared a number of main hospitals in the surrounding health affairs directorates of the Holy Places to provide a huge quantity of blood and blood products units. On the other hand, surplus units of blood and blood products will be retrieved from the blood banks in the Holy places hospitals and distributed to the blood banks in Makkah hospitals. Nevertheless, laboratory equipments will be cleaned and stored using appropriate technical methods after the end of the Hajj season.

Dr. Al-Omar pointed out that there are supportive specialized laboratories; Forensic Chemistry and Toxicology Centers in Makkah and Medina regions were prepared to support the Toxicology Center in Makkah, in addition to a Virus Department in the Regional Laboratory in Jeddah to participate in this year Hajj program, under the supervision of the Laboratories and Blood Banks Committee in Hajj. This is due to the role of the Regional Laboratory in Jeddah in supporting of Makkah’s hospitals laboratories by providing all laboratory services and blood transfusion services. The Virus Department in the Regional Laboratory is responsible of controlling epidemic diseases, confirming laboratory test positive results of virus infection during the Hajj season, in addition to providing a number of positions.

Moreover, the needs of Makkah and Medina regions for the Hajj season of laboratory supplies and detectors have been set and reported to the relevant authorities in the MOH to provide them. In addition, laboratories specialized in epidemics, viruses and hemorrhagic fevers detection, that are located in Makkah, Medina, Jeddah and Dammam, will be provided with all lab supplies and detectors to face any emergency situation during the Hajj season.

Dr. Al-Omar added that Hajj manpower of all nominated categories were set and distributed to the sites like the past years and according to the need of each site. The Hajj manpower has been sent to the Ministry’s concerned authority to complete their registration procedures in the computer.