Emirates Steel, the largest integrated steel plant in the UAE, has held an employee blood drive as part of its ongoing commitment to support the health needs of the UAE community. This is the second blood drive at Emirates Steel; the first was in November 2010. The drive was held in partnership with the Al Ain-based Tawam Hospital.
A mobile van and six hospital staff members set up a portable donation site at the Company’s Phases 1 and 2 sites. More than 140 employees signed up to participate in the blood drive, which yielded enough blood to help save many lives.
“We are extremely proud of the generous support of our employees. The same dedication they bring to their jobs every day was again evidenced by their desire to help meet the needs of their community,” said Engineer Saeed G Al Romaithi, Emirates Steel Acting Chief Executive Officer. “The blood drive has been such a rallying point at Emirates Steel, that we anticipate holding a similar drive every year,” he added.
The drive exceeded its goal of donors and more than 140 blood units were collected by the end of the donation campaign. The blood collected will cover part of the needs of public and private hospitals in Abu Dhabi as well as other Emirates. Blood transfusions often are needed for trauma victims due to accidents and burns, heart surgery, organ transplants, and patients receiving treatment for leukemia, cancer or other diseases, such as sickle cell disease and thalassemia.
The Tawam medical staff performed tests on Emirates Steel blood donors for hemoglobin, blood pressure and blood type. The blood collection process took approximately 10-20 minutes per donor while the entire process from the time volunteers registered and began the screening until they left took approximately 45 minutes to an hour.
“If eligible donors give blood twice a year, it would greatly help in maintaining an adequate blood supply for the country,” added Mahmood Al Hameli, Emirates Steel Vice President of Administrative Support. Eligible blood donors can donate blood 3-4 times a year safely. During the blood donation drive, educational brochures, leaflets and posters were distributed around the facility to raise awareness among the employees about donating blood.