Work has begun on digitizing and maintaining statistics of all blood service providers to determine the extent of blood transfusion services in the Maldives.
This was announced at a special ceremony held today at the National University in connection with World Blood Donor Day.
The Ministry of Health said that they have started digitizing and maintaining monthly statistics of blood donors. This will allow them to identify the rate of blood donation, age groups, conditions that require the most blood, and regions through health records. The Ministry added that maintaining statistics in this manner will facilitate research and the development of blood service policies needed for the Maldives based on these studies.
The Ministry of Health also stated that they have decided to start using the latest testing methods to ensure the safety of donated blood. They also mentioned that they have decided to start implementing the “Donors Collection Criteria” in September this year to determine blood donors for the blood bank.
At the ceremony held to mark World Blood Donor Day, an agreement was signed with unions of various colleges and universities to conduct blood donation and awareness programs. Minister of Health Abdullah Nazim Ibrahim signed the agreement on behalf of the Ministry. The National University of Maldives, Islamic University, Villa College, Islands Institution of Education, Zikra International College, and Maldives Business School participated in this agreement. At this ceremony, Health Minister Abdullah Nazim Ibrahim launched a blood donation campaign in collaboration with these institutions.
