Yemen’s blood bank has sent out an urgent appeal to anyone who will listen, as war and a blockade on the capital may force the centre to close within a week.
“We appeal to all humanitarian organisations in the international community and all financial donors to support the centre, as our medical supplies have nearly run out,” said Adnan al Hakimi, director of the National Blood Transfusion and Research Center in Sanaa.
“We will only be able to work for one more week, and after that if the humanitarian organisations don’t mobilise to support the national centre, it will shut down.”
The blood bank says it treats some 3,000 Yemenis a month who suffer from cancer, kidney failure and thalassaemia, an inherited blood disorder which causes sever anaemia.
But a trifecta of war, disease and famine has left the bank struggling to keep up with spiralling demand, with basic supplies all but impossible to secure in a country locked in by port and airport blockades.
“We’ve been impacted by the overall situation in Yemen, including the economic collapse,” Hakimi said.
The war has destroyed much of Yemen’s infrastructure and pushed the country — long the Arab world’s poorest state — to the brink of official famine.
More than 8,300 people have died in the conflict, with another 47,700 injured and millions displaced, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Amina Ali, whose young son has a condition that requires blood transfusions, makes the trip to the centre regularly for blood and platelets. Now, she says, she fears those trips are numbered. “What if it shuts down? Many children will get worse, including my son.”
Hakimi said the international medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) had been providing supplies to the bank since 2015 but “surprisingly suddenly stopped” in June.
The last donation MSF gave to the blood bank was in June 2017. That donation was to support the running of its activities for two months, giving the time for WHO to start its support. — AFP
Natacha Yazbeck
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