Dubai: A web portal for blood donors launched on June 21 in the UAE, is the only national database or web-based blood donor registry in the country.
It recorded 50,000 hits in two days and already has 2,500 registered members since its launch.
The brainchild of Dr Tiju Thomas, consul, economic, education, press and information at the Indian Consulate General, Dubai, who also happens to be a medical doctor, this portal was conceived by him as a way of giving back to the UAE community. Dr Thomas describes it as a gift from the Indian community to the UAE.
The need for donated units of blood is high as nearly 42 per cent of the blood units collected is required by thalassaemia patients. The second and third needy parties are patients of oncology undergoing chemotherapy and trauma patients.
The Dubai Blood Donation Centre (DBDC), which is a centralised blood collection authority, often experiences seasonal shortfalls during summer and Ramadan and such a registry will prove very helpful in locating donors.
“I have an O negative blood group which is rare and there is always need for it. By bringing together donors and recipients and large groups and associations under the same umbrella, my attempt is to create an integrated blood donor registry for the country.”
The free portal (www.blooddonors.ae) helps you identify the potential donors of all blood groups, including the rare groups and that too nearest to your home. Simply search for your required blood group, sift through the results. The individual details tell you’re the blood group of the individual, last date of donation and contact details, All one needs to do is call the individual required.
Usually, blood donations are required in emergency cases and such data is a great help in providing instant access to a potential donor. The easy-to-navigate website provides all details about the scientific aspects of blood donation, who can donate blood, the blood groups that match etc in simple reader-friendly language. It also has an educative, interactive game that provides a graphic representation of all the blood groups and their compatibility with each other.
Dr Thomas explained: “The portal is three-tiered. It represents individual donors and any individual recipient or donor can register. Next, it focuses on organisations, associations and large groups and invites registrations from them. In case of blood shortages, these groups can be contacted to organise instant blood donation drives. So far nearly three large Indian groups in the UAE with approximately 3,000 members have pledged to register.”
The third aspect of the web is its administration which Dr Thomas personally manages. He has been invited by other countries such as Ethiopia and Kenya to set up similar web portals and visualises the setting up of an integrated international blood donor’s registry where all countries on the globe can dip into an international data base. Currently he is working on launching on app which will connect recipient and donors instantly.
“In case of an emergency, the recipient will just have to press a button on the app to have instant connection and confirmation from the donor to provide blood,” added Dr Thomas, who thinks the next step would be to establish similar national registries for bone marrow and kidney, liver and other organs where there is a need to connect the donor and recipient communities.
How it works
1.Log on to www.blooddonors.ae.
2.The site helps you identify potential donors of all blood groups, including the rare groups and that too nearest to your home.
3.Search for your required blood group, sift through the results that will tell you’re the blood group of the individual, last date of donation and contact details.
4.Review the results and call the individual required.
5.The easy-to-navigate website provides details about who can donate blood, matching blood groups in simple reader-friendly language.
6.It also has an educative, interactive game that provides a graphic representation of all the blood groups and their compatibility with each other.
