The Faculty of Arts at Ain Shams University organized an awareness symposium entitled: “Advantages and Benefits of Blood Donation”, in which Dr. Dalia Diaa El-Din Salem, Assistant Professor of Clinical Pathology at the Faculty of Medicine, lectured under the patronage of Prof. Mohamed Diaa Zein El-Abedeen, President of Ain Shams University, Prof. Ghada Farouk, Vice President of the University for Community Service and Environmental Development Affairs, Prof. Hanan Kamel, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, under the supervision of Prof. Hanan Mohamed Salem, Vice Dean of the Faculty for Community Service and Environmental Development Affairs, with the participation of Prof. Soha Al-Sabaa, Director of the Youth Welfare Department, and Union students, in the presence of Prof. Eman Mohamed Amin Omar, Head of the Department of Clinical Pathology, and a large number of students.

In her speech, Prof. Hanan Mohamed Salem, Vice Dean of the Faculty for Community Service and Environmental Development Affairs, said that the faculty administration, headed by Prof. Hanan Kamel is keen to participate in all the events and activities carried out by the university to achieve its role in serving the community, by spreading health awareness among faculty members, students and employees, to donate blood and volunteer, and to correct misconceptions about blood donation, to achieve the values of human giving and social and health solidarity in the future. Among us, and to emphasize the campaign’s slogan: “A drop of blood equals a life,” and that one person’s donation can save more than one life, while emphasizing that the donation process has a mutual benefit for the donor and the donor. The lecture comes within the framework of promoting the 5 for 1 campaign, which was launched in January. 2023 at University Hospitals.

During the lecture, Dr. Dalia Diaa El-Din Salem, assistant professor in the Department of Clinical Pathology and Quality Director at the Main Blood Bank, stated that the idea of the campaign depends on providing 5 permanent donors for each patient who needs a chronically transfused blood so that he is not exposed to the formation of alloantibody antibodies that result from exposure to blood transfusion from Several donors, and complete compatibility is made between the patient and the donors to choose the appropriate donor for this patient, with full compatibility in terms of ABO Rh Kell type. They take turns to donate to him. She also emphasized that donating blood has many benefits for the donor, which are: enhancing heart health, reducing the risk of infection. Strokes, reducing the risk of high blood pressure, promoting the production of new blood cells in addition to stimulating blood circulation.

It also focused on the extent of the need of Ain Shams University Hospitals, as one million patients visit them annually, and these patients need more than 60 thousand units of blood and its derivatives annually.

The conditions for blood donation were also mentioned, which include that the age must be between 18-60 years, the donor’s weight must not be less than 50 kg, the pulse must be regular and range between 60-100 beats per minute, and the blood pressure must not be less than 90/60 or More than 180/100), and the hemoglobin percentage in men should not be less than 13 and in women not less than 12 and not more than 18 / g / dl.

It also reviewed blood derivatives that consist of: red blood cells, which are used to treat anemia of all types and are needed by patients with Mediterranean anemia, sickle cell anemia, tumor patients, and kidney failure patients. The second component is plasma: it contains various clotting factors and is used in treating bleeding patients and patients. Liver is used to change plasma for patients with immune diseases. Blood derivatives also consist of cryo, which is used in the treatment of hemophilia and fibrinogen deficiency. The last component is platelets, which are used for patients who suffer from some platelets, marrow failure patients, and tumor patients, especially before chemotherapy sessions.

The campaign also aims to spread reassurance in the donation process, because all donor data is kept in complete confidentiality, and the donation is made under the supervision of specialized doctors, in addition to the fact that there are no serious complications from donation, and that the donation process takes only half an hour, and to facilitate the donors, an application will be planned to be completed. Through it, you can book clinic appointments and ring calls.

At the end of the lecture, Dr. Dalia Diaa held competitions among the students to ensure the extent to which attendees benefited from the information. She also urged faculty members, students and employees to participate, whether by donating or spreading awareness.