A state-of-the-art blood donation bus that will help collect an additional 70-80 units of blood per day has been launched in Dubai on Thursday.

The fully-equipped mobile blood donation bus, launched by the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) and DP World, is aimed to enhance blood donations and provide donors with added convenience.

DP world donated the Dh1.79 million bus that will be used by the DHA-run Dubai Blood Donation Centre (DBDC) to collect blood during its mobile blood collection campaigns.

Humaid Al Qattami, Chairman of the Board and Director-General of the Dubai Health Authority, said that the partnership symbolises true collaboration between the government entities in the emirate.

He highlighted that the mobile blood donation bus will help the centre reach out to different sections of society interested in blood donation and will make it convenient for donors to give blood.

Sultan Ahmad bin Sulayem, Chairman of DP World, said: "The health and rehabilitation sector is particularly important to ensure the wellbeing of our community and we want to contribute to develop this sector. We hope this initiative will help provide a further impetus to blood donation drives in the emirate."

He highlighted the importance of this donation, which will directly help increase the number of blood collected through mobile blood donation campaigns.

Dr May Raouf, director of DBDC, said this state-of-the-art bus would help in collecting additional 70-80 units of blood per day.

Al Raouf said: "This mobile bus will help us collect additional units of blood, which will directly benefit those in need of blood, especially Thalassaemia patients."

The DBDC is the central blood donation centre for Dubai. It supplies blood and blood products to all private and governmental hospitals in the emirate, which includes over 40 private and government hospitals in Dubai.

In 2016, the DBDC collected approximately 50,000 units of blood, making it the Centre to collect the highest units of blood in the country.

Since the establishment of the centre in 1986, it has been committed to serving the needs of the local communities by saving lives through voluntary un-paid donation.

The centre is located in the premises of Latifa Hospital and individuals interested in donating blood may contact the centre at 04 2193221 or alternately they may contact the DHA toll free number 800 342.

Source: Khaleej Times