Nearly 200 pints of blood were collected Friday to be used for emergencies at the holy sites during this year's Haj. About 300 expatriates of various nationalities and Saudis donated blood at the King Fahad Medical City (KFMC) in Riyadh. Indians, Sri Lankans, Bangladeshis, Yemenis and Syrians participated. The blood will be used at the emergency rooms of healthcare centers in Makkah and Madina. The campaign was carried out by members of Tamil Nadu Thowheed Jamaath (TNTJ), a social organization from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. “I feel proud of Tamil Nadu Thowheed Jamaath for their voluntary contribution to help the pilgrims in emergency situations,” said Dr. Fathou Al-Alem, Head of the Blood Bank at King Fahad Medical City. Faisal Mohamed, and engineer and a TNTJ coordinator, said the camp received an overwhelming response from Saudis and various expatriate communities. “We got an overwhelming response from members of the Indian community and others who came forward to donate blood for this noble cause,” he said. The TNTJ has been participating voluntarily in the KFMC blood donation campaign for three years in a row. A standard health screening procedure was done prior to blood being donated. Each donor underwent tests for blood pressure, sugar and hemoglobin count before the donation. The checks also included communicable diseases.
