Morocco’s Security Services Donate Blood

Rabat – The General Directorate of National Security (DGSN) in Rabat organized a blood drive at the National Blood Transfusion Center yesterday, March 25. Police contributed to address the dangerously low reserve of blood that Moroccan authorities announced the previous day.

The police officers’ contributions join other Moroccan efforts in the management and response to the novel coronavirus spread in Morocco.

The initiative falls under a partnership between the DGSN’s inspection and health departments and the National Center for Blood Transfusion (CNTS), according to Rachid Brikat, the chief of staff of the urban body at the Rabat’s police prefecture.

Participating donors included all police ranks and units combined, Brikat added.

The DGSN’s blood drive push comes after CNTS officials announced an alarming lack of blood reserves on March 24.

CNTS Director Dr. Mohamed Benajiba told Arab News that blood supplies are running dangerously low, emphasizing that the lives of thousands of patients across Morocco depend on blood transfusions.

On Monday, March 23, Benajiba said that only 200 Moroccans donated blood. Hospitals need a minimum of 800 donations per day to provide appropriate patient treatment.

Moroccans are reluctant to make blood donations amid the mounting fear of the COVID-19 spread.

“The National Center for Blood Transfusion has taken measures to ensure the complete safety of donors,” Benajiba stressed to reassure Moroccans and encourage them to donate.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) explained on Tuesday, March 24 that transfusions of plasma, from COVID-19 patients who have recovered, successfully treated some cases. This could explain the urgent need for blood in Morocco.

The same plasma transfusion method was used during the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic.

In another impressive initiative, on March 19, DGSN and the General Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DGST) allocated a budget of MAD 40 million ($4 million) to the Special Fund for the Management and Response to COVID-19.

Both the DGSN and DGST are mobilizing forces to deter any attempts to incite panic and fear among citizens.

The DGSN arrested several people for spreading rumors and fake news that would undermine citizens’ safety amid the pandemic.