Reporting
Earthquake in Turkey: blood donation centers are always full in Istanbul
Audio 01:36
Emergency rescue teams search for people under the remains of destroyed buildings in the town of Nurdagi, on the outskirts of the southern Turkish city of Osmaniye, Tuesday, February 7, 2023. AP - Khalil Hamra
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
As rescuers continue their efforts to find survivors under the rubble, Turks are showing their solidarity across the country.
Long queues formed in front of blood donation centers.
Report in the Pendik district of Istanbul.
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With our special
correspondents Guilhem Delteil
and
Jad El Khoury
It is snowing in large flakes, temperatures are around zero degrees.
But despite everything, the Istanbulites crowd in front of this blood donation center.
And many, like Islam Uildiz, a young entrepreneur, would like to do more.
“
I volunteered to go to disaster areas,
” he says.
But many volunteers are currently waiting at airports.
So they sent me a message asking me to stay at home;
they will call me if needed.
But I can't sleep at night.
I have to do something.
»
► To read also:
Earthquakes in Turkey and Syria: a death toll which now exceeds 5,000 dead
Many say they are coming to donate blood for the first time.
Turks, but also foreigners.
The scale of the tragedy sparked an outpouring of solidarity among all residents.
“
I have lived in this country for 12 years.
I studied here, I live here, I work here.
This country has given me everything, I want to give something back.
I can wait all day: it's not a problem
”, testifies Moustafa Al Najar, a Syrian refugee.
An unprecedented momentum
The momentum is such that the processing capacities of these units of blood are saturated, explains Orhan Ozturk, a volunteer at the Red Crescent: “
Yesterday, we had up to 350 people in line.
We opened at 10am and closed at 10pm.
Twelve o'clock !
But we still had to send a lot of people home because the labs have limited processing capacity and if we take more samples, they will be lost.
»
Today, the system is running at full capacity whereas ten days ago, the Red Crescent warned of low blood stocks.
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