[Hijama through the passage of time]

Blood-letting is defined to be the withdrawal of blood from a patient. Considering the mysterious, life-saving, and occassionally miraculous nature of blood during the evolving history of man, civilization, and science, this red liquid being the token of life and death throughout centuries was used as evidence for clinical diagnosis of special diseases or otherwise as definite and soothing treatment of patients. Based on the existing evidence, hijama or blood withdrawal in cultural and religious beliefs and customs of certain tribes has had even a special status in saving man from devil or evil forces. The accessible old documents show the expansion of blood drawing as a known life-saving element and treatment method in ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome in different forms including hijama. However, the development of medical sciences, particularly transfusion medicine and blood transfusion sciences, the treatment and preventive role of hijama and other methods like arteriotomy and leech cupping started to get less prominence except for some eastern countries especially Islamic states where hijama is still employed to relieve soul and treat diseases as a tool of preserving traditions. In Iran, considering the available standards based on which potential blood donors with recent hijama experience are defered for one year, it is necessary to raise awareness of all those involved in the field of blood transfusion and the whole community about the history of hijama so as to see how we can better deal with this historical and traditional controversial topic

Need-assessment and research priorities-setting in IBTO Research Center

Setting research priorities in the cycle of research management is critical. The limitation in human and financial resources and policy changes are the most significant reasons necessitating research priorities to be set. Research prioritization can materialize and be effective at different levels ranging from macro and national to educational and research levels. To this end, IBTO Research and Education Deputy by this study has embarked on a serious measure in organizing and orienting investigations in IBTO.First the necessity of the implementation of the project was elaborated in the Research Council and priorities were set. Then, different procedures were conducted based on the guidelines of COHRED [Council on Health Research for Development] and by use of priority-setting instruments applied in research institutes. At the end, the results were reviewed by the Research Council so that the final priorities were approved of. In the present study, out of the whole number of forms distributed for priority-setting, blood centers, headquarter managers and consultants, and the faculty members had respectively a share of 64.28%, 33.33%, and 25.92% in responses. At the process of title collection, more responses were received as compared with the priority setting process. Finally, 99 research titles in 16 domains were approved of as final priorities by the IBTO Research Center. Priority-setting was conducted through the method recommended by COHRED for the first time in IBTO. In spite of the participation of the out-of-organization beneficiary, research centers, and scientific associations, the highest rate of participation goes to intra-organizational groups. Approved priorities can be implemented by a call for research, the creation of an evaluation system for recommended projects, and survey of approved projects. Thus, the most use can be made of financial and human resources for priority-setting

[ Evaluation of the attitude of Iranian women towards blood donation]

The most important goal of IBTO is to prepare safe and sufficient blood and blood components; thus, the appropriate screening of donors out of low-risk population is significant. It is likely that women population compared with men is at lower risk in regard to high-risk behaviors leading to blood-transmitted infections. However, the donation attempts on part of women compared to men are less frequent. A cross-sectional study was conducted on Iranian female population at the age range of 17-65 in eight provinces of Iran. A questionnaire was prepared. The number of samples was calculated as 12000 using statistical formulas. The sampling method was multi-stage cluster. Finally, the data were analyzed using SPSS 11 statistical software. The age average of women under study was 32.6 +/- 12.1. Most of them were married, housekeeper, and had diploma. 24.1% of them had a record of blood donation while 75.4% never enjoyed such an experience. The educational background and employment rate of women with no blood donation precedent were significantly lower than those with previous history of blood donation [P