UNIPATH STAFF
Dubbed “My blood is for Kuwait,” the Kuwaiti military launched a five-day campaign encouraging its affiliates to donate blood at the headquarters of the Directorate of Moral Guidance and Public Relations in January 2022.
The campaign was coordinated with the Kuwait Blood Bank during which a large number of Kuwaiti military officers and enlisted personnel donated blood to increase the strategic supply of the blood bank and fill a shortage of rare blood types.
The blood bank provided the necessary medical equipment for the campaign, and donors gathered at Mubarekiya Camps at a pace of more than 200 donors per day.
Muhammad Al-Hiriz, public relations officer at the blood bank, noted: “The blood bank is poised to receive any party, whether governmental or private, whose members would like to donate blood to increase the bank’s blood reserve, and the Ministry of Defense coordinated with us for the campaign that lasts for about five days, from five to six hours a day.”
Apart from its defensive duties, Kuwait’s military is renowned for a humanitarian tradition that extends beyond Kuwait to encompass donations of food, medicine and other essentials to people afflicted by armed conflict and natural disasters. Countries benefitting from Kuwait’s generosity include Afghanistan, Lebanon, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
Facilitating international evacuation efforts after the Taliban takeover of the Afghan government in August 2021, Kuwait provided temporary shelter to 5,000 Afghans at Camp Arifjan south of Kuwait City.
Sources: Kuwait News Agency, YouTube