By Ouassima Boujrad
Fez - The National Center for Blood Transfusion has made an urgent request that Moroccan citizens volunteer to make blood donations to meet the increased need for blood in certain Moroccan cities.
The acute shortage of blood is mainly in big centers like Casablanca, Rabat, Marrakech, Agadir and Fes.
The center's drive was launched on Tuesday with the following statement: "Urgent, if you live in Rabat, Fez, Marrakech, Casablanca or Agadir, take the time to save lives, donate blood. Please get to the nearest regional center for blood transfusion."
The hours of operation are from 8:30 am to 2.00 pm from Monday to Friday in each of the cities' blood transfusion centers.
“The demand for blood is outstripping the supply of even the most donated blood group, O+” claimed Amina El Fadl, a coordinator of Blood collection in Casablanca. She added that this was often the case after the holy month of Ramadan and during vacation.
According to Ms El Fadl, the regional center in Casablanca needs 200 blood doners per day to meet the demand. This seems an impossible goal to reach as things stand and highlights the need for the national center's drive to encourage the Moroccan people to participate and donate blood.