According to Dr Raouf, only 0.6 per cent of the UAE population is AB negative, 1.8 per cent is B negative, 2.4 per cent is A negative, and 4 per cent are O negative. Positive blood types are the most common blood type and are found in 38.6 per cent of the population.

The 19th edition of the Medlab Middle East congress will feature 12 CME accredited multi-disciplinary conferences, including, a dedicated conference on Blood Transfusion Medicine.

The conference, which is supported by the International Society of Blood Transfusion and the Saudi Society of Transfusion Medicine, will feature several renowned international blood specialists presenting guidelines and regulatory updates on the safe and effective collection, preparation and transfusion of blood products tailored for lab and transfusion specialists.

The conference, chaired by Dr May Raouf, Head of blood donation centre, Dubai Health Authority and co-chaired by Dr Naema Omeziane, Medical Director, Abu Dhabi Blood Bank, SEHA, will examine critical topics including technological breakthroughs, global and regional challenges of recruitment and retention of blood donors, transfusion-transmitted infections and screening of donors, amongst others.