Dozens of members of the Tahweed Newcastle Islamic Centre have donated blood to help save the lives of those in need, as almost 400 new blood donors are needed every day.
But with only 6% of donors coming from black, Asian and ethnic communities, the NHS warns it is facing a shortage.
To help tackle this, dozens of members from the Tahweed Newcastle Islamic Centre have donated blood.
The session on October 8 was organized with the aim of promoting blood donation in the Muslim community.
And the date coincided with The Day of Arbaeen which marks 40 days after the Day of Ashura, the day Hussain ibn Ali, peace be upon him, was martyred in the Battle of Karbala.
In honour of Hussain’s sacrifice, the Muslim community come together in October for a month of remembrance called Muharram and encourage each other to help those in need.
Kamran Haider kindly volunteered to give blood and wants to encourage other people in his community to do the same.
The 39-year-old said, “We are the followers of Holy Prophet Muhammad and to commemorate his martyrdom we are encouraged to go on that day and give the donation of blood.”
“In our religion during Muharram, we are encouraged to help those in need and we want to help save people’s lives by doing donating blood.”
With the need for more donors from different ethnic backgrounds, Newcastle Donor Centre was delighted with the kind donations.
Lynn Woods, Newcastle Donor Centre manager, said, “We are very grateful to everyone at the Tahweed Newcastle Islamic Centre for making their first donations.”
“Blood donation saves lives and to supply hospitals we need people to donate through the year.”
