The voluntary effort is being led by Who Is Hussain, a social justice charity working with NHS Blood and Transplant, as well as the Imam Hussain Blood Campaign, one of the country’s oldest Muslim blood donation organisations. As part of the campaign, called #GlobalBloodHeroes, blood centers across the UK and dozens of other centers in countries such as Iraq and Thailand on six continents will attempt to collect blood from 50,000 people. Donations started at a center in New Zealand and will be completed in the US. Around 600 people have already signed up to roll up their sleeves and donate blood at centers across the UK. “I tried to book myself in today and there are no places left,” said Naz Shah, the MP for Bradford West, who visited a donation center in Leeds. “It tells you how positively the campaign is going.” Naz Shah and Who is Hussain volunteer at a blood donation center in Leeds. Photo: Who is Hussain/NHS Blood and Transplant Blood donations in the UK are particularly lacking from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities, who are more likely to develop high blood pressure, diabetes and some forms of hepatitis than whites, according to the NHS. Last year, less than 6% of NHS blood donors in the UK came from people from BAME backgrounds. Blood diseases such as sickle cell disease and thalassemia more often affect BAME communities. Blood donors and recipients of the same ethnic origin are more likely to match. Despite the number of Asians donating blood increasing by 20% in the last three years, there is still a shortage of BAME donors overall. A donor shows off her certificate after donating blood in Birmingham. Photo: Who is Hussain/NHS Blood and Transplant “I think we should encourage donations, especially for ethnic minority communities, because we are not the biggest blood donors,” Shah said. “From a Muslim perspective, we are the biggest givers of charity. But do we see this when it comes to blood donation? All these discussions have to be had.” The #GlobalBloodHeroes campaign coincides with Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar, which is particularly significant for Muslims commemorating the legacy of Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, who was massacred with his family 1,400 years ago after refusing to give faith to a corrupt leader who seeks to succeed his grandfather. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Aimen Al-Diwani, 31, a volunteer who leads donations at an NHS blood donation center in Leeds, said this important historical event and the Islamic principle that saving a life is compared to saving humanity, led his decision to volunteer for the campaign. “I am inspired by Hussain’s story,” said Al-Diwani. “Through this story, it is a way for us to be able to remember him through action, giving blood and taking the same story of self-sacrifice for humanity, in a simple and small gesture of donating blood that takes less than an hour of your time .” The NHS aims to have a six-day supply of each blood type. However, amid staff shortages at NHS blood donation centers and a shortage of blood due to the Covid pandemic, stocks are running low. NHS Blood and Transplant centers issued an urgent appeal last month for people to come forward to donate. “We are at our most difficult time in the pandemic,” said Altaf Kazi, a spokesman for NHS Blood and Transplant. “We need people to donate over the summer to help recover blood supplies from four days to the usual six days. “There is now a huge increase in ethnic minority patients needing blood. We need more people like the amazing donors of Who is Hussain to take this next critical step to start saving lives.” With 36,000 people signed up to donate blood around the world for the #GlobalBloodHeroes campaign, whether this global effort succeeds in breaking the world record will be determined in the next two weeks.
