It might not be at the forefront of our thoughts, however blood donation is a vital practice that helps many people in their hour of need. All across the globe, health institutions and professionals advocate the importance of donating blood voluntarily to help save lives.
Our nation’s capital is already well on board with the concept as the Abu Dhabi Blood Bank currently operates a system where they regularly collect litres of the life-saving fluid all over the emirate. We spoke to charge nurse Jeanne Onate about the ADBB and how you can donate in the city.
Nurse Jeanne is friendly and accommodating, and will surely put anyone’s fears to rest for those who are hesitant to roll up their sleeves and take part in the procedure.
Having worked with the ADBB for over 11 years, she has noticed a significant shift in the public’s perception and receptiveness to giving blood.
‘Since I began working people have become much more eager to donate on their own,’ she says. ‘At the moment, we even have bookings for months in advance to donate blood, which is great because it is so important. When I first started, it was a real effort to get people to donate, we had to do massive campaigns and send out lots of emails and text messages.’
You might have spotted large white buses parked around town, filling up with people that all leave looking a little queasy, but proud. The ADBB currently operates two large buses that can be sent to any location, where trained staff on board will collect blood and distribute it across the emirate and Dubai. Thankfully, many companies take it upon themselves to rally their staff to donate blood, a great form of corporate social responsibility.
‘The procedure itself is very simple and it will only take about half an hour,’ she adds. ‘The first thing that potential donors need to do is to pass a screening stage, where they are assessed for their medical background and eligibility.’ Only adults over the age of 18 can donate, however people 17 years of age can donate with the proper parental consent. Once the screening and registration are done, then the donor can have a seat and let the professionals take over.
For those who would prefer to give blood on their own terms and in their own time, there is a walk-in clinic as well. Since 2006, the ADBB has been operating under the umbrella of the Sheikh Khalifa Medical City, managed by the Cleveland Clinic. They have labs in the Khalidiyah area where walk-in patients can also choose to be assessed by onsite professionals for blood donation.
‘All you need is ID and your passport or health card,’ says Jeanne. People are checked for dangerous infectious diseases, as well as their blood type classification. There are four main groups: A, B, AB and O, and each
of these can be classified as positive or negative.
While the most obvious beneficiaries of blood donation are accident victims, there are countless others that can be helped, such as cancer patients, people with extreme anemia, or people scheduled for surgeries. Since the act of donating blood is harmless and brings about such positive outcomes, community members should check if they qualify to participate in this quick and easy, but life-saving procedure.
The Abu Dhabi Blood Bank is open Sun-Thu 7am-9pm; Sat 8am-1pm; closed on Fridays. To learn more about how you or your company can get involved in donating blood visit www.skmc.ae (02 819 1700).
What’s your blood type?
If you belong to the blood group AB, you are classified as universal recipients, but you can only donate blood to O types.
If you have blood type A, then you can get blood from other A or O types, while you can donate to A or AB types.
If you have blood type B, then you can receive from B or O types, but can only donate to other B or AB types.
If you have O blood type, then you can receive a donation from other O types. However, you can donate to A, B, O or AB.
O negative blood types are known as universal donors; they have the only type safe to give to anyone in an emergency.
