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blood, the NGO’s responsibility towards the commu-
nity grew. Therefore, as of August 2015, a different sys-
tem was put in place along with updated technology.
“The new method will consist of centralizing the calls.
DSC will be handling all communication between par-
ties and its primary tool will be Whatsapp. We found
that to be the most effective model in terms of prac-
ticality, time effectiveness and cost saving,” states
Teyrouz.
Although the current number of donors regis-
tered in DSC appears to be relatively high, Teyrouz
says that it should be significantly higher because the
growing demand is exceeding supply. DSC found two
ways to remedy the situation.
First, it will focus on increasing its personal re-
serve of blood units through a new strategy of sched-
uled blood donations. Instead of only responding to
emergencies and trying to find blood units accord-
ing to incoming calls, DSC will establish a method of
continuous follow-up with its donors to maximize the
number of blood units donated over a shorter period
of time in less time. This type of stock monitoring will
allow DSC to be better prepared to handle emergen-
cies and be more aware of the amount of blood units
it can provide straight away. This way, its call center
will function more efficiently.
Secondly, DSC will keep focusing on its blood
drives, which will in turn help hospitals meet their
demand. “In 2014 we were able to conduct 125
blood drives from which alone we gathered 6,000
blood units,” says Teyrouz. Since DSC’s representa-
tives are not allowed to perform blood transfusions
themselves, the NGO needs to borrow the services of
qualified nurses from the hospital for which they are
conducting the blood drive. Indeed, each blood drive
contributes to filling the stock of each respective hos-
pital for the current demand period, which increases
for the next period of time. That time frame can be a
maximum of two weeks or only a few days, depending
on that hospital’s size and needs.
However, DSC is doing much more than simply
filling stocks when it conducts blood drives. One of its
chief goals is to change people’s perception, as well
as the experience, of giving blood. DSC is doing its ut-
most to turn the act of donating blood into a reward-
ing experience rather than a dreadful chore, and one
that donors might actually look forward to.
The way it achieves this is by choosing agreeable
locations for the drives, and making the process as
easy and comfortable as possible. DSC’s members
saving lives one blood drive at a time
donner sang compter
Words by Sara Ghorra
in the span of less than seven years, Donner Sang
Compter (DSC) - a Lebanese non-profit NGO that links
potential blood donors to patients in urgent need -
has directly contributed to saving around 60,000 lives.
DSC was founded in January 2009 by then
23-year-old Yorgui Teyrouz, who was urged to act
when he witnessed how blood shortages in hospi-
tals directly contributed to the deaths of patients
whose lives could have otherwise been spared.
Teyrouz’s personal endeavor actually began in 2007
as an informal online search for donors among his
circle of friends and family. A year later his work had
culminated into a database which includes several
thousand donors and their respective blood types.
In August 2015, five years after the official registra-
tion of the NGO, the number of donors had reached
15,000.
Indeed, this small yet exceptionally dynamic or-
ganization is helping to cover more than 10 percent of
the nationwide demand for blood units today, thanks
to both its effective call center that connects patients
to donors, as well as the rising number of blood drives
it conducts with the aim of eliminating shortages at
Lebanese hospitals. Moreover, it is heavily promoting
and raising awareness about voluntary blood dona-
tion, with the goal of making the experience a reward-
ing one for participants.
From its founding until early 2015, DSC’s method
of bridging donors and patients consisted of gather-
ing and sharing information. Those in need of blood
to help friends or relatives would contact the NGO
with a request for a specific blood type and other de-
tails about the situation, including the type of opera-
tion required and the quantity of blood units needed
as per the hospital’s request. In turn, DSC representa-
tives at the call center would share a limited num-
ber of donor names from their database in waves,
enabling the patient’s relatives to contact as many
potential donors as possible until the demand was
met. Once donors confirmed their ability and willing-
ness to donate, DSC would personally follow-up with
them.
“DSC’s system was fairly basic, undeniably effec-
tive, yet relatively unethical,” confesses DSC’s presi-
dent Teyrouz. “But it was either that or nothing. We
didn’t have the necessary funds to cover the costs
that would have been incurred had we done other-
wise.” Yet, with people’s increasing reliance on DSC for

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SEPTEMBER 2015 | www.executive-magazine.com96
make it a point to explain the procedure to donors
and create a positive atmosphere by entertaining and
rewarding them with snacks and refreshments when
they are finished.
“People are usually reluctant to go to hospitals or
blood centers to donate blood, as they perceive them
to be sad and austere places. That is why we try to
conduct as many of the blood drives either in people’s
‘natural habitat’ such as their office or university, or
out in the open in refreshing outdoor spaces,” claims
Teyrouz.
DSC, which is run by a team of highly driven and
dedicated individuals, always seeks to improve its ap-
proach. Its newest project, the ‘Collecte Mobile’, will
allow the organization to conduct traveling blood
drives. Thanks to the Global Blood Fund’s donation
in 2014 (The GBF is an international charitable or-
ganization that provides equipment, training, grants
and other forms of support to help struggling blood
collectors worldwide), DSC will soon be roaming the
country with a bus it plans on renovating and fully
equipping for the best blood donation experience
one could have in Lebanon. Renovating and equip-
ping the bus was made possible after a successful
crowd funding initiative, which took place in July-
August 2015. Hopefully, it won’t be long before it hits
the road!
One cannot but respect and admire an organi-
zation such as DSC, which is built on a strong desire
to serve the community without expecting any form
of remuneration, save the humble gratification that
comes with helping others.
Donating blood A is irrefutably one of the most
significant charitable acts one could ever do and
there is nothing more rewarding to a human being
than the knowledge that a part of them was shared
with another in an attempt to save their life. Yet, that
deed has even more substance when the donor does
not know the recipient’s identity…That it where true
humanity lies.
“Give Blood. Give Life” is Donner Sang Compter’s
slogan, and, as it rightfully states, “Be a hero!”