New Blood Donation Centre Enhances Healthcare With Advanced Facilities

Doha, Qatar: The newly established Qatar National Blood Donation Centre (QNBDC) stands out for its capacity to accommodate hundreds of donors at once and streamline blood collection efforts through advanced facilities.

This centre not only facilitates large-scale donation campaigns but also prioritises donor comfort with dedicated prayer areas, interview rooms, and post-donation resting areas, setting a new standard in accessible and efficient blood donation services, according to a senior official.

“The QNBDC has been highly beneficial due to its capacity to accommodate up to 300 donors simultaneously and collect blood from up to 38 donors at once, in addition to this a dedicated apheresis collection room with 12 beds has been set up,” Dr. Einas Al Kuwari, Hamad Medical Corporation's (HMC) Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology (DLMP), told The Peninsula.

In donor apheresis, a healthy individual donates blood through an apheresis machine. This specialised device is set to gather specific blood components such as red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, or plasma.

Services offered by the QNBDC include donor recruitment, donor registration, whole blood collection, platelet apheresis collection and post-donation support and care.

As the exclusive provider of blood and blood components for all governmental and private hospitals in Qatar, the QNBDC is maintaining an adequate and safe blood supply essential for a range of medical procedures including surgeries, trauma care, and the treatment of chronic conditions like cancer and blood disorders.

“Every blood donation acts as a crucial lifeline for numerous patients throughout our healthcare system. A steady source of blood donations is vital as a single unit can potentially benefit at least three patients when separated into its various components,” said Dr. Al Kuwari.

The QNBDC has introduced advanced cryopreservation techniques to freeze and store rare blood groups and phenotypes.

“This will facilitate the long-term storage of rare and valuable blood resources, and ensures that these essential resources can be stored safely for extended periods, providing a critical supply during emergencies or for patients with complex transfusion needs, including those with rare blood types or those requiring specific antigen-negative blood,” said Dr. Al Kuwari.

“The use of cryopreservation will support the creation of a strategic reserve that can be accessed during critical shortages or for patients with alloimmunization,” she added.

The shelf life of blood is 42 days from the date of collection and a regular source of blood collection is important.

“We have established a comprehensive blood management system that calculates the inventory of each blood type available in our blood banks twice daily. In the event of a potential shortage or sudden demand for a specific blood group, we promptly reach out to existing donors and the general public,” said Dr. Al Kuwari.

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