In cooperation with the central blood bank, the students of Free Aleppo University (FAU) have organized a blood donation drive in the university center in the city of Azaz for helping those in need in rural Aleppo, which has been the target of new bombings.

The students of FAU, earlier this week, started the blood drive after a bomb that targeted the city of al-Bab in the northern country of Aleppo on 17 November.

A car bomb exploded in front of a public parking garage, which resulted in killing 15 people and wounding 30 others, according to the statistics of the Syrian Civil Defense.

Muammar Nasser, a pharmacy student and member of the university’s student body, told Enab Baladi that the recent car bombing reiterated that the region is unstable and needs to be provided with emergency medical procedures permanently such as collecting blood.

The student initiative will be carried out by two voluntary teams, the Pulse and Khuta, at the FAU in Azaz city and the Khair center in Marea town, with the aim of contributing to the provision of support to the health sector and medical staff following events that occur or may occur in the region.

According to Muammar Nasser, the volunteers received the approval of the Dean of FAU and the roles and tasks were distributed among the team members. The volunteers contacted with the blood bank in the region to secure the blood drive’s requirements, a place, and other logistics.

All the academic departments at the FAU will take part in the blood donation drive in Azaz after coordinating with the Khuta Volunteer Team and the local blood bank.

The student initiative, blood donation drive in the FAU, was preceded by other initiatives at the Faculty of Medicine in Kafr Takharim in the province of Idlib, especially for university students.

Nasser pointed out that expectations in terms of turnout were realistic, adding that the blood gathered will be stored and preserved for later use in blood transfusion when needed.

The northern countryside of Aleppo, which is under the control of the Syrian National Army (SNA), has been subjected to sustained series of explosions that is targeting vital centers, popular markets, and residential buildings. Dozens of people were killed due to these explosions last November.

Bombardment and explosions in the opposition-held areas in the countryside of Aleppo have intensified after the Turkish military operation in eastern Syria, which began on 9 October, amid mutual accusations between the Turkish Ministry of Defense and the Kurdish People’s Protection Units on the responsibility for those bombings.