Muscat: In spite of the increasing number of blood donors over the past years, the demand for blood units and its components is steadily on the rise from 10 per cent to 15 per cent annually. Before 2020, the daily requirement for blood units was not more than 100 units per day in the Central Blood Bank, but now it needs 140 units per day.
The Department of Blood Banks Services supplies safe blood and its components for health institutions. The Department is selecting the blood donator to ensure the safety and quality of blood and its components. After collecting the blood, it will be separated and preserved for distribution to the health institutions.
The Department raised the voluntary blood donation rate to 96 per cent at the level of the Central Blood Bank, in addition to increasing the number of collected blood units to 14 per cent in 2021 compared to 2020.
The Department of Blood Banks Services organises many blood donation campaigns in cooperation with different authorities. The number of blood donation campaigns is more than 300 campaigns every year, in which 260 campaigns were organised for blood donation in 2021.
The cases that require transfusion of blood or one of its components are injured in road accidents or disasters, bleeding during surgeries, malignant blood diseases, bone marrow failure, some cases of genetic blood diseases, some cancerous tumors, and some cases of childbirth.
Not all people can donate blood. Some are barred for certain periods from donating blood like persons who had undergone for transfusion of blood or one of its components for one year; persons who donated blood less than three-month ago; persons whose teeth were removed 72 hours before the donation; persons who have mouth, nose, or under skin bleeding (if it is not a medical condition); persons who had a minor operation in less than six-month before the donation; and women who had their delivery an year ago.
Those who cannot donate blood include persons infected with communicable diseases such as AIDS or all types of viral hepatitis or syphilis; patients of chronic diseases like cancer, heart diseases, epilepsy, diabetes, and other diseases that need continuous treatment; patients with blood diseases like anemia and thalassemia; and persons infected with allergic diseases such as asthma or have drug allergies.
The Ministry of Health (MoH) has 13 blood banks across the Sultanate of Oman. In addition to the Central Blood Bank in Bausher, there are blood banks in hospitals like Rustaq, Suhar, Al Buraimi, Ibri, Nizwa, Ibra, Jaalan Bani Bu Ali, Sur, Salalah, Khasab, Daba and Masirah.
