Muscat – Approximately 144 units of red blood cells are needed every day in Oman, according to the Ministry of Health (MoH).

A statement issued by MoH said, ‘The Department of Blood Banks Services (DBBS) saves blood and its components for health institutions. The Department selects blood donors 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.

“DBBS raised the voluntary blood donation rate to 96% at the level of the central blood bank, in addition to increasing the number of collected blood units to 14% in 2021, compared to 2020,’ the statement said.

The DBBS 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.

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% to 15% annually. Before 2020, the daily requirement for blood units was not more than 100 units per day in the Central Blood Bank, but currently, the need for blood has reached 140 units per day.

‘The cases that require transfusion of blood or one of its components include those injured in road accidents or disasters, bleeding during surgeries, malignant blood diseases, bone marrow failure, some cases of genetic blood diseases, some cancerous tumours, and some cases of childbirth,’ it stated.

Meanwhile, some categories of people are prevented from blood donation. These are mainly of two types – temporary and permanent. The temporary cases include the person who had undergone transfusion of blood or one of its components for one year, a person who donated blood less than three-months ago, a person whose tooth was extracted 72 hours before donation, a person who has mouth, nose, or under skin bleeding (if it is not a medical condition), a person who had a minor operation in less than six-months before the donation, and pregnant woman who had delivered one-year ago.

The permanent cases include persons infected with communicable diseases such as AIDS or all types of viral hepatitis or syphilis, persons suffering from chronic diseases like cancer, heart diseases, epilepsy, diabetes, and other diseases that need continuous treatment, persons with blood diseases like anemia and thalassemia, and persons infected with allergic diseases such as asthma or have drug allergies.

There are 13 blood banks and centres of the Ministry of Health (MoH) across the Sultanate of Oman. In addition to the Central Blood Bank in Bousher, there are blood banks in hospitals like Rustaq, Sohar, Buraimi, Ibri, Nizwa, Ibra, Jalan Bani Bu Ali, Sur, Salalah, Khasab, Dibba and Masirah.

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Blood collection statistics

95.5% – voluntary blood donation conducted in 2021

67884 – blood donors in MoH institutions

81% – Omani blood donors in 2021

32754 – blood units collected in Central Blood Bank in 2021, compared to 28613 blood units in 2020

14% – rise of collected blood units in 2021