Hala Zayed, Egypt’s minister of health and population, announced that the ministry is cooperating with Facebook via a campaign to encourage citizens to donate blood. This step is the first of its kind in the Middle East, various local Egyptian newspapers wrote.
This campaign will focus on encouraging those who recovered from COVID-19 to donate blood plasma. Research has proven that blood plasma contributes significantly in improving the status of patients in critical conditions.
The Advisor to the Minister of Health and Population, Khaled Megahed, said that anyone above the age of 18 will be able to register on Facebook as a donor. When they register, they will be notified whenever there is a need for blood near his area. He added to explain that anyone between 18 to 65 can visit facebook.com/blooddonations and register to be donors.
When donors register, they will also have access to the 28 branches of national and official blood transfusion centers in Egypt. This includes the five centers dedicated to COVID-19 plasma donation.
During these critical times, it is important for a sense of community and responsibility to be established. This partnership with Facebook is necessary to increase the amount of blood donations right now. Megahed expressed that there are precautionary measures being implemented in the donation centers considering that some may be afraid to go out of quarantine after recovering from COVID-19.
The Public Policy Manager at Facebook Egypt shared that she is proud of this collaboration with the ministry, and she also emphasized how critical the situation is when it comes to providing patients in need with the necessary supplies to recover. Blood plasma is one of those necessities in some critical cases.
