The Health Ministry intends to establish mobile blood donation units in various parts of the country to facilitate collection of blood from potential donors and meet blood requirements of public and private hospitals.
"We will purchase a number of vehicles for this purpose," said Ali Al-Shammari, director of laboratories and blood banks at the ministry. "The new system will allow us to reach out to donors wherever they may be," he added.
He said mobile blood units would visit shopping centers, tourist festivals, government departments and companies looking for donors. "This system will increase the quantity of various types of blood in the ministry's blood banks and meet the requirements of patients without asking their relatives to donate," Al-Shammari told Al-Sharq Arabic daily. Read MoreUrgent Statement Forming a Committee to Find out the Circumstances Surrounding a Death in Hail Hospital
His Excellency the Minister of Health, Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al-Rabeeah, has given orders to form an urgent higher committee, headed by the Director-General of Hospitals, including in its membership a number of specialists, to find out the circumstances surrounding a death in Hail Hospital caused by the sudden disruption of respirators last Thursday. Read MoreNegligence alleged in another death at Hail General Hospital
HAIL An elderly woman died at Hail General Hospital last Thursday allegedly after a power outage caused oxygen devices to break down.
Health Minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah has given directives to investigate the case. Read More
MoH Starts Clampdown on Government Doctors Serving Private Hospitals
JEDDAH Health Affairs directorates in various regions of the Kingdom are rounding on Saudi doctors who work for private hospitals on a part-time basis to increase their income.
Their work in these hospitals without the ministry's consent constitutes a flagrant violation of healthcare regulations, a source at the ministry was quoted as saying. Read More
Hope for Paralysed Patients as Stem Cell Jab Restores Feeling to Patients with Damaged Spines
Patients with broken spines have reported having feeling restored to areas that had previously been paralysed, after receiving stem cell injections.
Scientists said they were 'encouraged' after two of three patients injected with donated foetal brain tissue responded to treatment at Balgrist University Hospital in Zurich, Switzerland. Read More
RIYADH The Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) has unveiled an ambitious expansion plan for the Riyadh-based Kingdom Hospital.
The SR550-million project will be carried out on a plot of land acquired by the company recently on the southern side of the present hospital.
"The expansion is in line with the company's strategic local investment strategy," said Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, Chairman of Kingdom Holding Company.
The magnitude of the project reflects Kingdom Hospital's commitment to provide high quality care, combining clinical skills and cutting edge technologies, said a company statement. Read More
Scientists have published the most detailed analysis to date of the human genome.
Read More
Dengue Fever No Longer a Threat, Says Health Official
JEDDAH Efforts to combat dengue fever have led to an 80 percent drop in cases in 2012 compared to last year, Dr. Sami Badawood, Director of Health Affairs in Jeddah, told Saudi Gazette.
He said the disease, which can infect people through bites from a certain species of mosquitoes, is no longer much of a threat.
He praised cooperation between health authorities and the mayoralty for this achievement. Read More
