Risks facing haematology patients in the Gaza Strip are increasing, with shortages of some sensitive tests reaching 100% and supplies of other testing materials nearing exhaustion, alongside shortages of blood units and platelets. Patients rely continuously on these supplies for treatment and monitoring, while hundreds need medical evacuation to undergo bone marrow transplants outside the Strip.
Al-Aqsa laboratories warn of testing materials running out
Abdallah Wishah, director-general of the laboratories at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, warned that current quantities of some testing materials may last only between 10 days and two weeks. He said that if no new supplies arrive, essential tests required daily by hospital departments and patients could stop at any time.
The crisis in medical laboratories has worsened because of an acute shortage of the reagents and consumables needed to operate them. Tests facing a 100% shortage include sensitive analyses, foremost among them full blood counts and major blood-gas tests. These tests are used to monitor key indicators of a patient’s health and diagnose sudden changes.
These analyses are particularly important for patients with haemolytic disease, platelet disorders and cancer, as well as those in intensive care. They rely on them to monitor changes in their health on a daily basis and identify any change requiring urgent medical intervention, at a time when opportunities for diagnosis, treatment and monitoring have diminished as the healthcare system in the Strip has deteriorated.
Patients with haemolytic disease face a shortage of donors
In Mawasi Khan Younis, Rasmiya Ismail, who is in her sixties, suffers from haemolytic disease alongside other illnesses. Each new episode begins with her searching for people willing to donate blood, as she cannot go to hospital without securing donors to help provide the units she needs.
Rasmiya said that during an episode she experiences weakness and nausea and becomes unable to get up on her own. She stays in hospital for 2 or 3 days to receive one or two units of blood, depending on her condition. She added that what worries her most is the possibility of being unable to find donors on one occasion, explaining that she lives each day under the fear that the next episode could be her last.
In the intermediate-care wards at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah, the child Muath Abu Shawish is in critical condition because of haemolytic disease. Muath needs platelets daily to stay alive, while one of his relatives said he could no longer survive without regularly receiving blood bags.
The child’s relative explained that Muath’s condition requires a bone marrow transplant, meaning he must leave the Gaza Strip to receive treatment. His case reflects the circumstances of patients who urgently need medical evacuation, while their ability to receive diagnosis and monitoring inside the Strip remains tied to the limited quantities of testing materials, blood units and platelets left in hospitals and laboratories.
