Dubai: Good Samaritans are familiar enough in the UAE, but how many do we know who make blood donations a way of life?
A search at the Dubai Blood Donation Centre’s 80,000-strong databank led XPRESS to at least four such ‘star’ donors. Emiratis all, the four men give blood at every opportunity.
Topping the list are two brothers, Sami Al Zarouni, 41, and Saud Al Zarouni, 34, who have made over 100 donations between them. This means they have given around 50 litres, roughly a car’s fuel tank of blood, to save people’s lives over the years. An average male has around six litres of blood in the body and each donation yields 450ml. So a three-month gap is essential between any two donations to compensate the loss.
While Sami has donated blood 71 times in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, Saud has made 32 donations in Dubai. There’s also Ahmad Saeed Bin Darwish, 41, with 25 blood donations and seven-time donor Ahmad Al Kaabi, 50.
All four belong to the rare ‘O negative’ blood group.
On June 14 the world will mark Blood Donors Day, but for these men, blood donation is a lifetime calling.
“I will donate blood as long as I can,” said Sami, a businessman who embarked on his unlikely mission as an 18-year-old. His record donations have earned him recognitions and awards in Dubai and Sharjah.
“Back then, there was a shortage of blood in our country. So my family encouraged me to donate. There has been no looking back since,” he said.
A father of six, Sami said he donates blood for three reasons. “The first is a religious calling. Second, donating blood is good for my health. And third, it helps me fulfil a social responsibility.”
His brother Saud, who works in Dubai Airports, said he drew inspiration from Sami and began donating in 1999.
“Now I just have to do it every three months. Otherwise, I feel something is not right.”
Keeping an appointment
He said: “I keep an alarm on my mobile phone for the 22nd of every third month so I don’t miss an appointment. My friends joke with me about my ‘vampire’ diary.”
Stressing the importance of blood donation, he said: “Some years ago I got an emergency call from the Blood Donation Centre. I said I would be there in an hour, but they told me that would be too late. So I immediately rushed to the hospital to make the donation. It was for a woman who was in delivery and was critical as she was losing a lot of blood.”
Saud said two days later, he received a call from the woman’s parents who wanted to thank him.
“We usually don’t know who receives our blood, but this case was an exception. When I visited the family and saw the baby with the mother, I vowed I would donate blood as long as I could.”
As it turned out, Saud and Sami’s blood was used by the same woman during another delivery years later.
Other star donors also vouch for the satisfaction they get from repeated donations.
Ahmad Bin Darwish, an electronics engineer who has donated 25 times, said: “I donate blood because it is a way of supporting the community. Every time I do it, I feel a certain peace. It’s good for the health.”
A father of eight, he said the donations on two occasions were to his own family members.
“One was when my wife was delivering our seventh child through a C-section and the second was during my sister’s delivery.”
Similarly, seven-time donor Ahmad Al Kaabi who works with an insurance company said he has been donating blood for four years: “It’s a great feeling to be of service to someone in need. It’s also healthy to donate blood.”
The star donors said greater awareness must be created to allay fears about blood donation as the first time is always hard. They felt it would be a good idea for authorities to reinstate incentives to encourage donors, but added they would always volunteer their services.
Dr Laila Al Shaer, Director of the Dubai Blood Donation Centre, told XPRESS: “We need more loyal donors. In 2012, we had 42,400 life-saving blood donations, a 17 per cent increase compared to the previous year.”
She said the Dubai centre accounts for 50 per cent of the total blood collected in the UAE.
As much as 43 per cent of the blood was provided to Thalassemia patients, some as young as six months, while 27 per cent was used by Rashid Hospital and six per cent by Latifa Hospital.
She said there is a high demand for blood, but Dubai is well-stocked to meet it.
“There is no shortage, but I would like to encourage people to put their names in our database.
“People need to understand that blood expires every 42 days; platelets, which are needed mainly for cancer patients and those experiencing bleeding due to an accident or surgical procedure, expire in just seven days. Therefore, we need to have regular donors.”
She said: “We would like to allay any fears that donors have about the prick of the needle, possible infections and inaccessibility. Blood donation is very safe and we follow the highest international standards of collection.”
