Kurdish Syrian refugees donate blood to Duhok patients

A view of the Syrian-Kurdish Domiz refugee camp, 20 km southeast of Dohuk city, in northern Iraq, on September 16, 2012./GLOBE PHOTO/Safin Hamid

The Kurdish Globe
Shvan Goran--Duhok

According to UNHCR, there are about 17,000 Syrian refugees in Kurdistan Region 

Although far away from their homes, the Syrian refugees are still ready to help the people of Kurdistan Region as much as they can as reward for the generosity they have received. Their borders may have divided them but they still feel they're fellow citizens of one great country.



Ahmed is one of the 150 Kurdish Syrian refugees who made his way to one of the Duhok hospitals, not as a patient, but as a blood donor. He believes Kurds are all brothers, no matter which part they are from. "Our aim is to show that our blood and our brothers' in Duhok and Kurdistan are one, the borders have divided us, but our blood is always united,?" he said.

This initiative started after shortages at Duhok Blood Bank threatened to cause a danger to patients, lives, especially those in urgent need of blood.

Dr. Nazar Ismat, General Director of Health in Duhok noted his appreciation for those refugees who donated their blood and hopes that these kinds of initiatives will continue to serve the Regions people.

After President Masoud Barzani's visit to the Domiz refugees, camp in Duhok, the refugees felt that taking this kind of action was necessary. "Many refugees would like to make a blood donation, the only thing they want from the government is a car so as to get to the hospital.?"

According to UNHCR, there are about 17,000 Syrian refugees in Kurdistan Region since the Syrian conflict began in March 2011. They are mainly Syrian Kurds and settled in Domiz camp in Duhok province.

Dr. Majeed Khamo director of the Blood Bank told a Duhok based newspaper that about 150 refugees were ready to make a donation and they collected 115 bottles of blood during this campaign which has served to help many patients.

Blood Bank is the only place in Duhok province to which hundreds of lives are related, especially for those who lose a lot of blood in accidents and operations and sufferers of Anemia, a chronic disease which requires a person's blood to be totally replaced by fresh blood every month to prevent danger.

Earlier this month, the director of Blood Bank in Duhok announced that they Bank had witnessed huge blood shortages in the past two months and requested that people make their donations as soon as possible. He said that people who used to donate their blood regularly to the bank stopped doing so during Ramadan, causing the big shortage.