Fakhriya Al Darwish, in charge of the blood bank at the state-run Salmaniya Medical Complex (SMC), told AHN, " We want non-Bahrainis to come forward and donate blood as presently Bahrainis are the major donors. The bank receives on an average 1,000 donors monthly of which 900 are citizens while the rest 100 are foreigners."
She said this year to date they received 7,548 donors, an increase of 648 donors compared with last year.
"Last year, we received 15,230 donors of which 13,193 were Bahrainis and 2,037 Non Bahrainis. We are self sufficient but need more expatriate donors who are more than 350,000 here,"Al Darwish said.
As part of the ministry's campaign, embassies, churches, clubs and associations will be urged to spread awareness among their nationals to donate blood.
"There will be lectures organized that blood donation can save someone's life. The demand for blood is increasing due to high rate of traffic accidents and demand for health care services," she said.
The common blood group among Bahrainis is "0"positive. Bahrain does not import blood and Al Darwish said they were self sufficient despite the increasing demand.
According to the World Health Organisation, only 45 percent of the global blood supply is collected in developing countries, which are home to more than 80 percent of the world's population.
Blood donation camps are usually organized here during Ashoora, 10th day of the month of Muharram. Many consider it as a religious campaign with a good cause that attracts lot of people.
The SMC blood bank, which offers blood to all hospitals in the country, also offers SMS service where messages are usually sent to invite regular donors or those with rare blood groups to donate blood in emergency cases.
Al Darwish also thanked all the donors as the World Blood Donor Day is celebrated on June 14. The theme this year is "Give Blood Regularly."
According to Central Informatics Organization, the nation's population in 2007 reached 1,046,000, including 529,000 Bahrainis (50.57 percent) and 517,000 non-Bahrainis constituting 49.43 percent of the population. The expected lifespan is 74.7 years among males and 76.8 among females.
