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Major achievement in study on blood

Amin Hussein Al Amiri, Director of the UAE Blood Transfusion Services and Medicxal Laboratory Department at the UAE Ministry of Health, said the study, published in the federation's medical journal, was the seventh by the department published locally and internationally in the last four years.

Hassan Al Keem, Under-Secretary at the MoH, said the department also received a letter of commendation from the systems development and health services director at the World Health Organisation's regional Middle East office, in which he congratulated the MoH for such a major achievement.

The artificial blood control, which is manufactured from human and chicken blood, is used by hematology analysers to calibrate blood before real human blood samples can be passed through the machine.

Hematology analysers test blood according to eight parameters, including white and red blood cell counts, platelets count and haemoglobin. The artificial blood control has to be used to calibrate machines each morning and once in the evening.

Consumption of imported artificial blood controls used by medical labs to calibrate equipment, used to cost the MoH Dh500,000 annually. The product was imported on a monthly basis as its shelf life is only 30 days.

Three years ago the Blood Transfusion Services and Medical Laboratories Department began to consider locally manufacturing artificial blood control products.

• UAE