QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Patients in the northeastern Syrian city of Qamishli are facing growing difficulties in securing lifesaving blood transfusions after the city’s only blood bank ceased operating, leaving hundreds of vulnerable people dependent on ad-hoc donations.
For Hassan Idris, 29, the struggle has lasted nearly his entire life. Diagnosed with thalassemia at age four, he now depends on regular transfusions to survive.
“Recently, as the city lost its blood bank center, we have been struggling immensely to secure blood,” Idris told North Press. “We even go out into the streets and ask people directly to donate.”
Thalassemia patients require blood more frequently than most. “Some cases need blood every week or every ten days,” he said. “We face great difficulty securing it on time.”
Growing burden on families and children
A doctor in Qamishli stressed the urgent need to reopen a fully equipped blood bank.
“Qamishli lacks a blood bank, and it is necessary and urgent for the Autonomous Administration to open one,” he told North Press. “Under current circumstances of war, blockade, and the spread of diseases, thalassemia patients need blood continuously.”
He explained that the former center—affiliated with the Syrian Ministry of Defense—used to conduct essential safety tests for donors, including HIV, hepatitis B and C, syphilis, and malaria. “These tests are necessary and costly. Without a proper facility, patients are exposed to significant risk,” he noted.
An employee from the former center said that around 70 percent of patients once depended on the now-closed facility. “With the fall of the Assad regime, the center stopped operating completely,” he said.
Local initiative fills the gap
With no institutional support, families increasingly rely on community-driven efforts.
Diyar Abdurrahman, 21, receives blood every 25 days. “Because of the war and constant attacks, securing blood on time is extremely difficult,” he said. “When the hospital has no blood, my family posts appeals online to find donors.”
In response to the growing crisis, Mohammed Amin al-Beik, 27, and seven other young men created a WhatsApp group to mobilize donors across the city.
“About a month ago, I launched the group because of the severe shortage and the difficulty of finding specific blood types,” Mohammed told North Press. “What motivated me was the death of a colleague’s father due to a lack of platelets.”
He said the group has helped provide blood for more than 60 cases so far, including thalassemia and cancer patients, open-heart surgery cases, accident victims, and women in childbirth.
Mohammed noted that the Kurdish Red Crescent lacks adequate equipment for platelet separation. “The main machine is in Hasakah, and reaching it is difficult when every minute matters,” he said.
Urgent need for a permanent solution
The absence of a functioning blood bank affects not only thalassemia patients but also cancer patients, pregnant women, accident victims, and emergency cases.
Health workers warn that without a permanent, fully equipped blood center, preventable deaths will continue in Qamishli.
Aya Ali, a 15-year-old thalassemia patient, has spent the past two years facing the same ordeal.
“The biggest issue we face with this illness is the difficulty of securing blood,” she said. “The Kurdish Red Crescent hospital provides donors, but the amount is not enough. A blood bank must be established in the city to meet patients’ needs.”