Abu Dhabi Blood Bank Services secures volunteer credit hours for blood donors

29 Dec, 2022:

Abu Dhabi Blood Bank Services, one of the strategic services of the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi, the regulator of the healthcare sector in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, operated by the Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA), announced that blood donors can now obtain volunteer credit hours through the UAE Volunteer Platform.
The programme, launched by Abu Dhabi Blood Bank Services in cooperation with the UAE Volunteer Platform, aims to encourage community members to donate blood and to attract wider groups and segments of the community, with a special focus on young adults. Through the platform, opportunities and volunteer campaigns will be announced, as well as providing blood donors with accredited volunteer hours and certificates.

Volunteer hours for blood donors will be calculated based on the type of blood donation. Two hours will be credited for blood donation and three hours for donating platelets. University students can benefit from this programme to complete the volunteer requirements necessary for graduating.

Dr. Saleh Al Ali, the Executive Director of the Centre of Emergency Preparedness and Response at DoH stated: “Blood donation and ensuring the availability of blood units represent a strategic importance for any healthcare ecosystem around the world, in order to sustain the efficiency of healthcare services. At the Department of Health - Abu Dhabi, we are keen to achieve a balance between the supply of blood donation and its demand within the emirate. This stems from our responsibility towards the health and safety of all community members, as well as our commitment to ensuring the emirate's readiness in accordance with best international practices and standards in responding to health emergencies. Our continuous work and efforts with our partners within the healthcare sector seek to raise awareness of blood donation as a noble act that contributes to saving the lives of countless people around us.”

Dr. Huda Khalfan Al Shamsi, Abu Dhabi Blood Bank Services Director said: "The UAE Volunteer Platform will greatly serve the Abu Dhabi Blood Bank Services, as we always strive to develop our programmes and projects to keep pace with developments that help us in securing blood in regular quantities to save the lives of patients. We stress on the importance of how donating blood can make a difference, as by doing so you are giving other people another chance to live. The UAE Volunteer Platform assists us in achieving that, through the attraction of voluntary blood donors.”
The UAE Volunteer Platform, the first smart platform of its kind and the largest in the country, serves as a comprehensive and interactive platform for developing and organising volunteer efforts in the country. The platform aims to expand the scope of volunteer work in the UAE by facilitating the volunteering process and enabling volunteers to register for blood donation campaigns. Once the volunteer is registered on the platform, they will be able to register for volunteering opportunities to donate blood and once the blood donation is complete, the volunteer hours are accredited. The platform provides its users with complete details including location, time and date, as volunteers can register to donate blood by visiting the UAE Volunteer platform at https://volunteers.ae/
The programme aims to promote the concept of social responsibility and reinforce the values of helping others as a main pillar of social cohesion. Blood donation is a noble and humanitarian voluntary act that ensures blood supplies are available for patients in need, ultimately contributing to the preservation of lives.

The Abu Dhabi Blood Bank Services is one of the Department of Health's strategic services, which aims to advance the health and safety of all members of the community and ensure that healthcare is delivered in accordance with international best practices, managed by Pure Health's SEHA subsidiary.
According to data gathered by Abu Dhabi Blood Bank Services, the number of donors in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi thus far in 2022 has exceeded 53,948 donors, while the total number of donors during the past five years has surpassed 247,801 donors.

It is worth mentioning that patients are not the only beneficiaries of blood donation. There are multiple health benefits for blood donors, including discovering potential health problems, reducing the level of excess iron in the blood, stimulating the body to produce blood cells, reducing the risk of heart disease, liver disease and cancer and reducing cholesterol levels.  
Donated blood units benefit patients in need of a blood transfusion such as victims of road accidents, fire victims, anaemia patients (thalassaemia and sickle cell anaemia), women with pregnancy complications such as ectopic pregnancy and bleeding during pregnancy or childbirth, patients with bleeding disorders (haemophilia), patients undergoing surgery, cancer patients, patients undergoing organ and neonatal transplants accompanied by complications.