Blood banks at hospitals in the southernmost provinces of Thailand are running low as violence rages and religious beliefs keep residents from giving blood.At Pattani Hospital donors have shrunk to as low as one person a day despite local awareness campaigns, said Suthipong Taksinsampan, the hospital's blood bank director. They solved the shortage temporarily by collecting blood from soldiers and students, but during school breaks hospital staff are called on to donate during emergencies, he said.
He acknowledged religious beliefs have a great influence on local views toward blood donation. Some Muslims only donate blood to their family members and do not want to give blood to random patients who may not share their religious beliefs.
Maroning Salaeming, a professor of Muslim law at Prince of Songkla University's college of Muslim studies, said many Muslims mistakenly believe that blood is dirty and that giving blood to others is prohibited. Donating blood is not against Islam, he added, suggesting each Muslim community initiate a blood bank.
| You tell 'em, college boy. |
The director of the Thai Red Cross National Blood Center said the agency has to work more closely with Islamic leaders to convince their followers to donate.