In the town of Darkush, western Idlib, the “al-Rahma” Hospital (Mercy) launched a blood bank that provides thalassemia patients with several free services.

Dr. Ahmad Ghanodur, the Chair of the hospital’s board, spoke to Enab Baladi about the importance of the center and the services it offers the thalassemia patients.

Ghandour pointed out that the bank is the first of its kind in the two areas of the coast and rural Jisr al-Shughur.

He highlighted the critical role that the center is playing when it comes to the treatment of thalassemia patients by blood transfusion process, providing periodical examinations and tests needed to follow up cases with diseases or epidemics, in addition to offering them medicines.

He explained that the center is supplemented with quality devices, which though very few are enough at the current stage.

Services for More than 50 Patients

The center is a destination to more than 50 monthly thalassemia patients. In addition to this, about 200 units of blood are transfused while about 600 units of blood are gathered through donations or harvesting, which are enough to cover the patients’ needs of surgeries, injuries, bruises and all kinds of other medical operations.

About the challenges facing the center, Ghandour said that the center needs more equipment while it lacks certain medications due to their high prices.

In addition to this, the center today cannot offer treatments to viral hepatitis, discovered by chance when people come to the center to donate blood.

Six Blood Banks in Northern Syria

In Northern Syria, there are six blood banks, the last of which was “Khayr3”, goodness, specialized in blood diseases, which “WATAN” Foundation opened in cooperation with Idlib Healthcare Directorate last December in the city of Idlib.

The center consists of three departments; a blood bank, medical tests laboratory, and a department for treating thalassemia. The center provides all its services for free.

The center provides its services around the clock, supporting Idlib’s hospitals which need blood, in addition to the patients who visit the center on a daily basis, as well as the follow up of the thalassemia patients and offering a complete health scan for their companions, Ziyad Hatim, head of the “Media and Solidarity Team” at the “WATAN” foundation, told Enab Baladi in a former interview.

Thalassemia is a disorder that occurs to the blood cells, due to low hemoglobin proportions. Hemoglobin is the main component of red blood cells, as well as the carrier of oxygen, which, in case of thalassemia, leads to low blood oxygen levels.

Jisr al-Shughur: Blood Donation Campaign

Early in March, the Syrian Civil Defense, the White Helmets, launched a blood donation campaign in the area of Jisr al-Shughur, western rural Idlib, as to support the hospitals under the ongoing shelling on the part of the Assad’s forces.

In a former interview with Enab Baladi, Ahmad Yazaji, the director of the Civil Defense’s branch in Jisr al-Shughur, said that the campaign was organized by the Civil Defense and the “al-Rahma” Hospital in the town of Darkush, when the latter opened a blood bank, provided with up to date devices.

He added that the campaign covers the city of Jisr al-Shughur and its rural parts, except for the western parts which are being attacked. The camping was met with a massive demand on the part of the people upon its launch.

The campaign, titled “Our Blood Is One”, seeks to alleviate some of the hospital’s burdens, which are receiving massive numbers of injured people following the violent shelling campaign that the towns of southern rural Idlib are witnessing.

In Northern Syria’s areas, where the Civil Defense operates, the organizations’ events and campaigns vary, and it is considered one of the key entities working on hospitalizing injured persons and evacuating the victims of the Assad’s forces shelling, which it has been doing since its foundation in 2013.

In Idlib, the medical sector has been witnessing marked progress since last year. Among the most prominent indicators is the first heart surgery in the Aqrabat Hospital, near the Syrian-Turkish borders.

Towards the end of 2018, the city of Idlib witnessed the opening of a center for the treatment of breast tumors and lymphoma, offering chemical therapy under the supervision of doctors specialized in cancer treatment.

Blood Disorders Treatment Center Opens Its Doors in Syria’s Idlib Governorate