Unrelenting Violence Drains Iraq Blood Supply ("mandatory" donations)

[Barrett808]

Unrelenting Violence Drains Iraq Blood Supply
BY JAMES PALMER
c.2006 Newhouse News Service

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Drained by the deadly sectarian attacks this year, Iraq's central blood bank now faces two very different problems: precious reserves that no longer keep pace with demand and a sudden wave of new donors it can't tap quickly enough.

"The fighting is overwhelming us," says Haider Al-Shammari, director of Iraq's National Blood Transfusion Center.

The problem has been growing since the February bombing of a venerable Shiite shrine in northern Iraq sparked the current wave of sectarian violence. On the worst days, demand can be double or triple the 350 to 500 pints the transfusion center tries to maintain, Al-Shammari says.

"Keeping the blood in supply is a vicious cycle," says Manof Jasim, a hematologist at the center.

(more)

http://www.newhouse.com/archive/palmer041106.html

[Tempest]

1. Donations are not exactly mandatory

At least not the way it's implied in your title.


From the article:

Much of the supply here is maintained by mandatory donations from the family or friends of patients receiving a transfusion. The rules are simple: Receive a pint and someone must contribute a pint for you, regardless of type.

[Barrett808]

2. Fair enough, so I edited to put "mandatory" in quotes

Do you think that conveys the idea a bit more accurately?

[Tempest]

3. Not really

It still implies donations are mandatory across a broad range.

It would be better to leave it out completely since it's a minor point to a larger issue.

But that's just me.

[rocktivity]

4. GOOD NEWS!

Iraqis develop the ultimate method of strengthening their family ties!

:party: (This post is part of the George Bush GULF WAR GOOD NEWS initiative.)
rocknation