Short answer
Call the hospital blood bank first and ask exactly what is needed: the blood group, how many bags, and by when. Then reach donors whose blood the patient can receive, starting with the patient’s own group. On Khidmat you give the patient’s details once and see registered donors in Quetta who can give, offered one at a time.
What to do in the first hour
When a doctor says a patient needs blood, the family usually starts calling everyone they know. A few minutes of order first saves hours later:
- Call or visit the hospital blood bank. Ask whether they have the blood in stock and, if not, what they need from the family.
- Write down the patient’s blood group exactly as the hospital reports it, for example B+ or O−. Do not go from memory.
- Ask how many bags (units) are needed and by when. “Two bags by tomorrow morning” and “one bag in an hour” need very different plans.
- Ask what kind of donation is needed. Most requests are for whole blood or red cells, but some patients need platelets or plasma, which are matched differently.
- Then start reaching donors, beginning with people whose blood the patient can safely receive.
In an emergency, the hospital blood bank comes first. Khidmat connects you with willing donors; the screening, testing and the donation itself happen at the hospital or blood bank, under their rules.
Which donors can give to the patient
A patient can receive red cells from their own blood group and from some other groups. A B+ patient, for example, can receive from B+, B−, O+ and O− donors. O negative red cells suit every group, which is why O negative is called the universal red cell donor (NHS Blood and Transplant). The hospital still tests and cross-matches every bag before it is given.
Our blood group compatibility chart shows every group in one table. In practice, most patients receive blood from their own group (Héma-Québec), so start there.
Why calling down a list is slow
Most urgent requests in Quetta go round as a message with a list of names, or as a public post with the patient’s phone number. Both have the same problem: the first names on the list get every call, they stop answering, and the names lower down are never asked. Meanwhile the family’s number spreads to strangers.
Pakistan already runs short. Medical centres need over 5 million blood donations a year but receive about 2.3 million, and most of those come from family or replacement donors (WHO, reported by Arab News, 2025). Every donor who is asked at the right time matters.
Need blood in Quetta?
Tell us first, then call the donors shown to you.
Give the patient’s blood group, the hospital and your number. Khidmat shows you registered donors whose blood the patient can receive, the patient’s own group first, offered in turn.
How to write an urgent blood request message
If you also share a message with family and friends, make it short and complete, so nobody has to call you just to ask the basics:
- Blood group needed (as the hospital reported it)
- Number of bags, and the day and time they are needed by
- Hospital name and ward, in Quetta
- Whether whole blood, platelets or plasma is needed
- One contact number that will be answered
Share it with people you know rather than in public groups, and say clearly when the blood is no longer needed, so donors are not called for a request that is already met.
Need O negative in Quetta?
Rh negative blood groups are uncommon in Pakistan. A 2019 study of 3,521 people in Karachi found 8.9 percent were Rh negative, and studies across Pakistan have found between 5.4 and 10.7 percent (Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association). O negative is one of those groups, so donors are few and are asked often.
An O negative patient can receive only O negative red cells. If the patient is O negative, tell the blood bank at once, and ask whether any O negative stock is available while you look for donors.
How Khidmat asks matched donors in turn
Khidmat Blood Bank is a register of willing donors, not a blood bank. On the Blood Bank page you give the patient’s blood group, the hospital and your number. You then see registered donors who can give to the patient: the patient’s own group first, and within each group the donor asked longest ago. You call the first; if they cannot come, you call the next.
- A donor’s number is shown only to someone who has given their own details first, and only for donors who agreed to be contacted.
- A donor who has just given rests for six months before anyone is shown their number again.
- The donor list stays open for 48 hours for the person who asked.
- Giving blood through Khidmat is voluntary and free. Khidmat takes no money from donors or receivers.
Questions people ask
Who should I call first when a patient needs blood?
The hospital blood bank. They tell you whether blood is in stock, what kind is needed and how many bags. Then reach donors whose blood the patient can receive.
Can any blood group donate to an O positive patient?
No. An O positive patient can receive red cells from O positive and O negative donors only. The hospital tests and cross-matches every bag.
Does Khidmat charge for finding a donor?
No. Khidmat is free for receivers and donors, and donors are not paid.
Will my phone number be posted publicly?
No. Your details reach only the donors you are shown, and a donor’s number is shown only after you give your own details.
Sources
- Blood types, NHS Blood and Transplant
- Blood types, Héma-Québec
- WHO says Pakistan receives less than half of 5 million blood donations it needs annually, Arab News, 13 June 2025
- Distribution pattern of ABO and Rhesus blood groups among different ethnic population of Karachi, Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association, 2019
