Published on Feb 02 2010 by Shiraz Sethi, Mohtamim Khidmat-e-Khalq MKA UK

Muslim Youth ask for Blood!

By the grace and mercy of Allah, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association held its first ever blood donation session at Fazl Mosque, London on 5 January 2010. Residents flocked to the London Mosque in Gressenhall Road, Southfields, to donate to the National Blood Service over a period of 7 hours. Men and women attended the blood drive, having received prior notification of the event through the various publicity mediums, which were used.

Preparations for this event had got underway a number of months ago with Farooq Aftab Sahib making contact with the NBS and subsequently arranging a venue assessment. We then undertook a telephone campaign amongst the region, as well as leaflet door drops to invite local neighbours and residents to join in the session. Members of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community including the ladies and elder men were also invited to take part. 

Shiraz Sethi, the youth social welfare officer remarked, "Donating blood is a great and simple way of being of service to fellow human beings. It does not only benefit the person receiving the blood but also the donor. Our aim is to educate and encourage all youth within our community of the benefits in donating blood and subsequently enable us to strengthen our ties with the NBS".

A total of 83 people (men and women) registered and went through the blood drive process. Out of these, 69 actually donated blood, with the remaining 14 people being unable to donate due to various reasons. Aside from this, we turned away approximately 100 people who turned up on the day but were unable to give blood because the NBS could not accommodate such large numbers despite having six beds.

Labour Parliamentary Candidate for Putney & Southfields, Stuart King, who also attended and supported the event, praised the efforts of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Association. "I pay a warm tribute to the efforts of the Ahmadiyya youth organisation for their commendable public spiritedness in organising a blood donation session at the London Mosque in Southfields.  This was the first donation session organised by the association and I was pleased to have been asked along to witness how well things went. I was delighted to have the opportunity to talk to the organisers, representatives from the blood donor service and also - most importantly of all - the donors themselves. What was especially impressive was the number of new donors that the session generated - sixty, I understand, out of a total of over 69 people who donated blood on that very cold and otherwise miserable evening. As a blood donor myself now for nearly 20 years, I know how valuable blood donation is to the NHS: London alone requires 7,000 units of blood per week. The fact that nearly 100 people had to be turned away as there were insufficient beds and staff to cope with them is a testament to the community spirit that exists amongst residents in the local area.  It bodes well for the plans to organise another session in the near future."
 
The Wandsworth Guaradian were also present at the blood drive and took a keen interest in the work that we were undertaking on behalf of the community. A full report within the Wandsworth Guardian can be viewed by visiting the following link: http://www.wandsworthguardian.co.uk/news/4845830.Southfields_mosque_hosts_blood_donation/

Due to the sheer success of the first ever blood drive at Fazl Mosque, the NBS have now provided us with a further three dates to accommodate the large number of individuals wishing to become regular donors. Similarly we are now working very closely with the NBS to establish other blood drives we can hold around the country at our various mission houses. It is advised that those regions wishing to undertake something similar should contact k-e-k@khuddam.org.uk in order that we may put you in touch with the right personnel.