Give Blood – SABS | Scottish Ahlul Bayt Society

The Mission

The Scottish Ahlul Bayt Society are proud to work in partnership with the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS), NHS National Services Scotland and the Imam Hussain Blood Donation Campaign (Scotland). Our joint objective is to raise awareness of the need for blood donors in Scotland. Currently, less than 4% of people in Scotland give blood.

Together we conduct annual blood drives, and throughout the year encourage donations by raising awareness in the public domain – across third sector organisations, political and diplomatic bodies, faith and no-faith based organisations, and religious and minority-ethnic communities – of the growing need for more blood donors and the short-shelf life of blood components. The mission is rooted in three aims: saving lives, public outreach to urge people to become regular donors, and caring for the human family; the promotion of peace, harmony and fellowship with all segments of society; and sharing the universal values upheld by Islam – and embodied in the holy personage of Imam Hussain (the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad) – of compassion, giving and good will.

The SNBTS is Scotland’s blood, blood product and tissue provider and, are committed to ’Meeting the Transfusion Need of Patients in Scotland’. Their service is invaluable and without donations many medical and surgical procedures could not possibly take place.

For more information, please contact us on: giveblood@scottishahlulbaytsociety.org

or text ‘Donate Blood’ to 07443 512508

Timeline of major events

Imam Hussain Blood Donation Campaign, Scotland

2006
Imam Hussain Blood Donation Campaign brand launched in England.
2013
Imam Hussain Blood Donation Campaign: blood donation drive launched in Edinburgh with 18 successful donations. Click here
2014
- Imam Hussain Blood Donation Campaign Scotland launched as a brand; Blood donation drives in Edinburgh, Dundee, Inverness, Aberdeen, Glasgow. Click here
- November, Bill Kidd MSP SNP, Chief Whip of the Sottish Government, facilitated a meeting with Jim Eadie MSP SNP who then submitted the motion on the Imam Hussain Blood Donation Campaign for debate in the Scottish Parliament, which received Cross-Party support, notably from Malcolm Chisholm LAB, Dr Nanette Milne CON, Hanzala Malik LAB, James Dornan SNP, Dr Richard Simpson SNP, and Michael Matheson, former Minister for Public Health. Click here
2015
- In support of this blood drive were, Bill Kidd MSP, Chief Whip to The Scottish Government, and Councillor Gavin Barrie who visited. This was also an Interfaith blood drive in Edinburgh; standing in friendship with the Muslim community were the Rt Rev Dr John Armes, Bishop of the Diocese of Edinburgh, The Most Reverend Leo Cushley, Archbishop and Metropolitan of St Andrews & Edinburgh, Rev Maud Robinson from Unitarian Church, Mr Edward Tsang, Chair of the Asian Association of Culture and Commerce of Education in Europe (AACCEE), and the General Secretary of the Edinburgh Inter Faith Association, Iain Stewart. Click here
- NHS Scotland awarded Mr Shabir Beg, Scottish Ahlul Bayt Society (SABS) chairman, as Volunteer of the Year at the NHS National Service Scotland Excellence Awards. Click here
2016
- At our Parliamentary event titled EU Integration: Faith and Diversity in Scotland, sponsored by Bill Kidd MSP, Mary Morgan, Director of the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS), praised the work of the Imam Hussain Blood Donation Campaign, as did the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon MSP. Click here
- The Scottish Ahlul Bayt Society partnered with SNBTS in its international Missing Type campaign to raise awareness of blood donation. Click here
- An Early Day Motion was submitted to the UK House of Commons by the Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Blood Donation, Stewart McDonald MP, supporting the work of SABS and the SNBTS in this regard. Motion Click here and Click here
- SABS Vice-Chairman Ifty Ali was guest speaker at the SNBTS’ Donor Award Ceremony 2016 at the Glasgow City Chambers. Click here
- Edinburgh Blood drive – Over 200 people across faith and no-faith, BAME and others donated blood. Click here
- Blood Donation Campaign Media Shoot 2016 in Edinburgh – The event projected the important message of blood donation across faith communities, emergency services, and various other social and civic sectors. Click here
2017
- SABS – SNBTS Minority Blood Donation Campaign Launch in Edinburgh. At the event in the City Chambers on the 18th January, Edinburgh’s Lord Provost Donald Wilson launched SABS’ drive to raise awareness of the need for blood donation across all sectors of society in Scotland. A cross-section of representatives from the sectors of civic, faith, community, public sector, and defense leadership were present. Our Intrafaith partners and Sunni Muslim friends from Dar ul Ehsan Scotland greatly supported this campaign. Click here
- SABS-SNBTS National Minority Blood Donation Campaign was launched in Glasgow at the Glasgow City Chamber on Monday the 20th Feb supported by Lord Provost of Glasgow following the milestone launch in Edinburgh. Click here
- SABS – a 2-day Blood Donation Campaign took place in April in Edinburgh. Click here
- The Imam Hussain Blood Donation Campaign Scotland which has been running in Edinburgh for 3 weeks has now come to a close. We thank the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service for working with us on this project and for their insurmountable efforts in the last 5 years over which this campaign has ran in Edinburgh. This year the campaign has seen a record number of over 260 donors and a great many potential lives saved as a result of their selflessness. We thank all those who came! We were pleased to also have Frank Ross, The Rt. Hon. Lord Provost and Lord Lieutenant of the City of Edinburgh and other dignitaries across civic, community, and diplomatic sectors support the life-saving cause. Our aim is to encourage regular blood donors, in remembrance of Imam Hussain [a] and his pure mission. We hope to see you at our next campaign, and in the mean time encourage you to continue donating!
  
  with Frank Ross, The Rt. Hon. Lord Provost and Lord Lieutenant of the City of Edinburgh
  
  Click here to read the full story.
  
  www.scotblood.co.uk | www.youtube.com
2018
- First Minister of Scotland Supports the Imam Hussain Blood Donation Campaign Scotland.
  
  Ms. Sturgeon said: “I am delighted to support the Imam Hussain Blood Donation Campaign. It is important for everyone to consider giving blood if they can, because it’s quick, safe, easy and can literally save lives. “I was pleased to be able to visit the Edinburgh Blood Donor Centre today to thank donors and staff, and to learn more about the valuable role the Scottish Ahlul Bayt Society plays in this campaign, by working to encourage the Muslim community across Edinburgh and the Lothians to give blood.”
  
  The Rt Hon Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland
  
  with Shabir Beg, the First Minister and Mary Morgan, Director SNBTS
Click here to read the full story.
- 2018 – March – Well done to the Islamic Society of Edinburgh University for participating in the Imam Hussain Blood Donation Campaign Scotland and donating blood to save lives.Click here to read the full story.
- 2018 – April – Imam Hussain Blood Donation Drive April 2018Click here to read the full story.
- 2018 – October – Kash Farooq, British Boxing’s bantamweight titleholder, becomes the Ambassador of the Scottish Ahlul Bayt Society and the Imam Hussain Blood Donation Campaign Scotland.Click here to read the full story.
- 2018 – October – Imam Hussain Blood Donation Campaign Scotland, Muharram drive kicks off, taking the campaign in Edinburgh into it’s 6th year!Click here to read the full story.
- 2018 – November – 2018 Being Human Festival; Bloodscape – Scavenger hunt exploring changing blood trends.Click here to read the full story.
- 2018 – December – SABS MSP Briefing: Scottish sports working together to save lives and promote blood donation.Click here to read the full story.
2019
- SABS 2 day Blood Donation Campaign took place on the 28th February and 2nd March in Edinburgh.
  Click here and click here to read the full story.
- 14th June 2019 – World Blood Donor Day
  The Scottish Ahlul Bayt Society proudly supports the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service and World Blood Donor Day.
  
  The Rt Hon. Frank Ross, Lord Provost and Lord Lieutenant of the City of Edinburgh and Cllr Adam McVey, the Edinburgh Council Leader both support World Blood Donor Day.
  
  SABS chairman Shabir Beg proudly supports the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service and World Blood Donor Day, with the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.
  
  Click here to read the full story.
- 19th June 2019 – East Renfrewshire’s Provost Jim Fletcher Supports Blood Donation.
  Click here to read the full story.
- 27th August 2019 – Visit to the Jack Copland Centre, SNBTS | NHS National Services Scotland.
  Click here to read the full story.
- 12th October 2019 – Well done to the Islamic Society of Edinburgh University for participating in the Imam Hussain Blood Donation Campaign Scotland and donating blood to save lives.
  Click here to read the full story.
- October 2019 – Imam Hussain Blood Donation Campaign Scotland, Muharram drive kicks off, taking the campaign in Edinburgh into it’s 7th year!
  Click here to read the full story.

In the 6 years in Edinburgh alone, the campaign has generated over 2,100 donations so far. As each donation can be split into three separate parts (red cells, platelets and plasma), this means up to 6,300 lives have been saved or improved in Scotland.

Additionally, annually, as part of World Blood Donor Day – a global campaign of the United Nations’ public health arm, the World Health Organisation – the Scottish Ahlul Bayt Society initiates a national outreach project in partnership with the SNBTS. For World Blood Donor day, we ask for the support of our networks across all sectors and the citizens of Scotland by posting letters reminding them of the need for regular blood donations and the locations of donor centres.

Giving Blood

Blood is something we all expect to be there for us when we need it, yet only 4% of us give blood. Blood donation services help patients suffering from life-threatening conditions live longer, and they thus play a crucial role in saving those who have suffered accidents during man-made and natural disasters, as well as in maternal and child care. The service is of immense value and without regular donations a number of medical procedures would not be possible. Thus many people would not be alive today if it wasn’t for the generosity of donors. Most people can give blood, but all donors have to meet the eligibility criteria before their blood is accepted to ensure there’s no risk of us harming you or the patients who will receive it.

Where can I give blood?

If you’ve never given blood before you’ll probably wonder what Blood Donation Sessions are and what happens there. They can take place at regular intervals at your local community centre, church, sports club or even daily at one of our permanent sites across Scotland.

The SNBTS has five permanent Donor Centers in the following locations:

Book Appointment

Am I eligible to donate?

In order to determine whether you are eligible to donate blood and save lives, try out the quiz here.

The Mission

Timeline of major events

2006

Imam Hussain Blood Donation Campaign brand launched in England.

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

Giving Blood

Where can I give blood?

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