AUK Receives Kuwait Central Blood Bank Award

As part the Kuwait Central Blood Bank (KCBB) celebrations of the World Blood Donor Day, the American University of Kuwait (AUK) received an award on its contributions to blood drive campaigns in Kuwait. Hala Ahmad, AUK student, received the award on behalf of AUK at the awards night held on June14.

During the event, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health Dr. Qais Al Duwairi, praised the efforts of the blood donors from governmental and civil organizations who contributed to promoting a culture of blood donation in Kuwait. From her side, the Director of Medical and Donor Affairs at KCBB, Rana Al-Abdulrazzak commented on the event saying "KCBB has been celebrating this occasion since 2004, each year under a different slogan". She also mentioned that this year's awards have been granted to 40 donors, each of whom has donated at least 70 times.

The Voice of AUK, the university's official student newspaper has been holding annual blood drives since 2008. The idea of blood drives was originally conceived by the AUK alumna, Dina El Zohairy, to raise awareness among the community about the importance of donating blood to help make it readily available for cancer, trauma and post-surgical patients, among others. This year, the 5th Annual Blood Drive, held at the AUK campus last April, managed to attract around 170 blood donors.

Released by the Office of Public Affairs on the 26th June 2012