DAMMAM: Qatif General Hospital has said that 29 percent of persons who took its premarital blood test last month were found to be carrying inherited or contagious blood disorders. The hospital said that 516 people took the test last month and that 119 were found to be carriers of sickle cell anemia with 13 cases ill from it. 18 cases of thalassemia were discovered, along with four instances of hepatitis A, three of hepatitis B and one case of hepatitis C. “The cases discovered could represent the true rate of carriers or sufferers of those disorders in general in the Qatif region,” Dr. Rihab Al-Yousef, a coordinator on the premarital test program, told Al-Watan Arabic daily. “The consultant clinic at the test center is working hard to counter inherited blood disorders in the region by trying to discourage cases from going through with marriage.” At the University of Dammam, meanwhile, a five-day blood donation campaign found that out of 549 female students and members of staff who came forward to donate blood 190 were found to be “unsuitable” for health reasons. Blood consultant and supervisor of the campaign Dr. Awatif Al-Nafi' told Al-Hayat Arabic daily that out of the 549 a total of only 147 completed all the blood donation procedures. The campaign was one of the university's periodical efforts to “serve society and particularly the ill who are in need of blood”, Dr. Hissa Al-Otaibi, Deputy Dean of Women's Faculty Student Affairs said.
