Successful partnership praised at Holyrood

A successful partnership which has directly benefited patients across Scotland was recognised at an event at the Scottish Parliament this week.

The Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service’s work with the Scottish Ahlul Bayt Society, in particular in relation to the Imam Hussain Blood Donation campaign, was praised for its success in attracting blood donors from the Muslim community in Scotland.

The campaign was initially brought to the communities of Edinburgh and Glasgow by Scottish charities The Edinburgh Ahlul Bayt Society (TEAS) and Glasgow Ahlul Bayt Association (GAA), local charities that engage with Muslim students and young professionals. They joined with the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service for the first time in 2014 to give blood together, and encourage new and existing blood donors to give blood.

Speaking at the ‘EU Integration, Faith and Diversity – A Shia Muslim Perspective’ event at the Scottish Parliament on Wednesday, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon praised the Scottish Ahlul Bayt Society for the integral role it plays in Scottish society and the “huge impact” it has had on encouraging its members to give blood in Scotland.

SNBTS Director Mary Morgan said the partnership has resulted in more than 800 blood donations in the last two years, helping to save or improve the lives of 2,400 people in Scotland.

She said: “Since it began in 2014, the number of donations now given as a result of this campaign is over 800. As each donation can be split into three separate parts, red cells, platelets, and plasma, this means over 2,400 people in Scotland have had their lives saved or improved as a result of the efforts of the campaign.”

The success of the partnership was also recognised last year when Patron of the Scottish Ahlul Bayt Society, Shabir Begg, picked up the Volunteer of the Year Award at the annual award ceremony for National Services Scotland.

Iftkhar Ali, co-ordinator for the Imam Hussain Blood Donation campaign: “An important part of our faith as Muslims is to contribute to the society we live in and this campaign encourages people to do just that. It is a pleasure to work on this campaign encouraging Muslims to give blood during Muharram. We have had an excellent response, and I’d like to encourage as many people as possible to donate blood.”

To find out more about the Imam Hussain Blood Donation Campaign visit http://www.ius.org.uk/giveblood/

To register as a blood donor or to find out where your nearest donation session is, call 0345 90 90 999, text ‘blood’ to 61611, or visit www.facebook.com/givebloodforscotland@givebloodscot