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Gaza's hospitals desperately need blood. Along with the many killed, tens of thousands of Palestinians have also been seriously wounded in the war, according to Gaza health officials. But how do you collect blood donations from donors who are malnourished under bombardment and in the middle of a war? Abu Bakr Bashir reports.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: (Speaking Arabic) O positive.
ABU BAKR BASHIR, BYLINE: Blood is what these doctors are seeking in Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis in southern Gaza. It's been more than 10 months since Israel invaded Gaza following the deadly Hamas attacks of October 7. Since that day, blood banks in Gaza have been under tremendous pressure.
SOFIA ZOROUB: (Through interpreter) Since October 7, we suffer from a severe shortage of blood due to extremely high numbers of injured people and patients.
BAKR BASHIR: Dr. Sofia Zoroub (ph) is the head of the blood bank at Nasser Hospital, one of the few hospitals still operating in Gaza. Israel said 2,500 blood units have been transferred into Gaza during the war. But when the Israeli soldiers raided Nasser Hospital a couple of months ago, the blood in the bank there was lost.
ZOROUB: (Through interpreter) When they stormed Nasser, they cut power, and we lost all the blood in the bank.
BAKR BASHIR: So the hospital has been putting out a lot of calls for people to donate blood. The demand for blood now in Gaza usually outstrips supply. The problem is that most potential donors have been displaced - some of them many times over - and are suffering from malnutrition. Anemia, hepatitis, polio and skin diseases have also spread widely. All of this has hampered the ability of people to donate blood. Dr. Mohammed Saqer is the head of nursing at Nasser Hospital.
MOHAMMED SAQER: (Through interpreter) Only 20 people came out of 1.2 million in Khan Yunis after we made calls for blood donations. That was a shock, but we understand it. It is malnutrition. People can hardly find food every day, and so many are weak and pale.
BAKR BASHIR: Doctors have started offering food as an incentive to donate blood.
UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Non-English language spoken).
BAKR BASHIR: At a recent blood drive, men gather outside the room where food is kept. They are waiting for a small portion of rice and, if lucky, a piece of meat or chicken. Some are asking for more meat, if possible. It made a huge difference, Dr. Zoroub says.
ZOROUB: (Through interpreter) I have no doubt that the meals encourage people to come.
BAKR BASHIR: More people show up this time, but how many meet the criteria for being a donor? That was a different challenge. NPR producer Anas Baba interviewed a donor, Israa Abu Obaida (ph).
ISRAA ABU OBAIDA: (Through interpreter) I eat no decent meals at all. It is all canned food for breakfast and lunch. Only when we find some vegetables, we can call it a decent meal. It's been a while ago since I last had three meals a day. It's been long since we last had meat - all canned food.
BAKR BASHIR: She had hepatitis and a skin infection, but she is OK now, she said. Shorouq al-Rakhawi (ph) is there to donate blood, too.
SHOROUQ AL-RAKHAWI: (Through interpreter) Now we eat only canned food. The hot sun makes canned food go bad.
BAKR BASHIR: Other donors are lying on blue and brown beds waiting to be tested before giving blood. Nurses run those tests and write down on paper charts all the details of each blood bag approved. Hanan Ramadan from Doctors Without Borders tells NPR this is no normal blood drive.
HANAN RAMADAN: (Through interpreter) This campaign is different as donors who are supposed to be helping people in need are suffering themselves. Plus, they have low blood levels, are underweight and have diseases.
BAKR BASHIR: But patients are in urgent need of blood regardless of the health of the donors and of the medical protocols, says Dr. Zoroub.
ZOROUB: (Through interpreter) We stopped testing for anemia when it became very common. This is the first protocol we violated. The second - blood must be tested for hepatitis B and C and HIV with a certain device. Now we use the rapid strip testing, which has a high margin of error. There was a time when we had neither the device nor the strips, and we used blood that was not even tested. To live with hepatitis B is better than to die.
BAKR BASHIR: It was not only the food that brought people here. Some said it was the least they could offer to their community in such a difficult time. One young woman said she was donating her blood as a good deed, hoping God would reward her by curing her sick brother.
For NPR News, I am Abu Bakr Bashir. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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