Blood donation charity Donner Sang Compter (DSC) is closing its doors. In a statement published on Facebook on Friday and signed by its president and founder, Yorgui Teyrouz, DSC announced the closure of its offices in Beirut. The charity, which has been active for more than 14 years throughout Lebanon, closed its offices in Saida and Tripoli a year and a half ago.

Unwilling to comment further on the matter, Teyrouz directed L'Orient-Le Jour to the organization's press release. Several reasons seem to have guided the founder's decision to  "pause" the charity's work, after more than 160,000 calls for help from patients' families, the collection of more than 60,000 blood and platelet donations for 142 hospitals, and the donation of more than 105,000 units of blood through Donner Sang Compter in recent years.

Lack of funds

The lack of funds due to the unprecedented socio-economic crisis that Lebanon has been going through since 2019 is one of the main reasons DSC cites for suspending its activities. But at the heart of the closure decision, "responsibility for blood safety" plays a key role. "Whose responsibility is it to ensure blood safety?" its press release asks.

DSC recalls that it was created to spare patients the stress of having to secure blood units at the last minute. "Our aim was to create a movement and engage as many people as possible through national awareness campaigns around the importance of voluntary blood donation," the text states.

The charity has relied on emergency response through its call center, proactive response through blood drives and community engagement involving blood donors and volunteers. "We are powerless, however, when it comes to the broader experience of blood seekers and blood donors in all public and private blood banks, which are beyond our control," the organization's statement points out.

DSC's statement goes on to ask a series of questions regarding the conditions for blood donation in Lebanon: "Why are the standardized eligibility criteria established by the government and the relevant committee in 2015 not implemented uniformly in all blood banks, which continue to follow their own individual criteria?"; "Why don't the entities concerned organize public campaigns to promote blood donation despite the dedicated funds received?"; "Who is responsible for transporting the blood units, is it acceptable for the family to do it themselves in a bag filled with ice?"

Coordination issues

DSC also denounces "the lack of collaboration and coordination between stakeholders, which constitute major obstacles to work."

"We have tirelessly raised these issues, but our voices have not been heard within the network," its statement reads. DSC does not specifically name the stakeholders to which it refers.

"As we say goodbye, we'd like to remind you that Donner Sang Compter is not just a non-profit organization. It's a philosophy and a way of life," concludes the text, which doesn't fail to salute the many volunteers who have enabled the association to support so many patients.