Health Ministry Denies Authenticity of Pictures of Open Blood Bags

The Ministry of Health has condemned the recent circulation of images of blood bags on social media, saying that the pictures date back to October 2014 and had already been proven to be false.

After the images showing bags of blood laying open at the entrance of Meknes’ Blood Immunization Center were shared on social media, the ministry spoke out and explained that these images date back to 2014.

Back when the images first surfaced, a central inspection committee headed by the director of the National Blood Transfusion Center conducted an investigation at the regional center for blood transfusion in Meknes.

The investigation found that a group of people had deliberately removed the blood bags from inside the blood transfusion center and placed them at the entrance, said the ministry in a communiqué, adding that the necessary administrative measures had been taken against those involved.

For the ministry, the recirculation of these images during a time of critical blood shortage in Morocco is “a serious violation of health security,” which puts efforts of the ministry and all its associates at stake, especially since the dissemination of these images coincides coincides with blood awareness campaigns carried out by the Ministry of Health, the National Center for Inoculation, and regional centers.

“The Ministry of Health strongly condemns these despicable acts, which strike in depth all the efforts exerted by the workers in the health sector to provide medical assistance to patients,” concluded the communiqué.

Source: BNA