Dozens of members of the Tahweed Newcastle Islamic Centre have donated blood to help save the lives of those in need, Chroniclelive.co.uk reported.
Almost 400 new blood donors are needed every day to help save lives.
But with only 6% of donors coming from black, Asian and ethnic communities, the NHS warns it is facing a shortage.
To help tackle this, dozens of members from the Tahweed Newcastle Islamic Centre have donated blood.
The session on October 8 was organised with the aim of promoting blood donation in the Muslim community.
And the date coincided with The Day of Arbaeen which marks 40 days after the Day of Ashura, the day Hussain ibn Ali was martyred in the Battle of Karbala.
Hussain ibn Ali is the grandson of the prophet Muhammad who sacrificed his life for social justice.
In honour of Hussain ibn Ali’s sacrifice, the Muslim community come together in October for a month of remembrance called Muharram and encourage each other to help those in need.
Kamran Haider kindly volunteered to give blood and wants to encourage other people in his community to do the same.
The 39-year-old said: "We are the followers of Holy Prophet Muhammad and to commemorate his martyrdom we are encouraged to go on that day and give the donation of blood.
"In our religion during Muharram, we are encouraged to help those in need and we want to help save people's lives by doing donating blood.
"However, more awareness is needed in our community about donating in order to help others and to help more members of our community revive memories of the grandson of the Holy Prophet."
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Sheikh Meisam Ghasemi, director of Tawheed Newcastle Islamic Centre on Bentinck Road, said: "Blood donation is a way for us to honour the sacrifice made by Hussain ibn Ali and to help those in need.
"Giving blood is quick, safe, and clean, and the whole donation process is easy. We want to encourage donors from all backgrounds and hope that this group session will become a regular event."
With the need for more donors from different ethnic backgrounds, Newcastle Donor Centre was delighted with the kind donations.
Lynn Woods, Newcastle Donor Centre manager, said: "We are very grateful to Sheikh Ghasemi and everyone at the Tahweed Newcastle Islamic Centre for making their first donations.
"Blood donation saves lives and to supply hospitals we need people to donate through the year.
"It’s easy to register to become a donor, we need nearly 400 new, first time donors every day to meet patients’ needs, to replace those people who can no longer donate for reasons such as ill health, age and pregnancy.
"Our donor centres are the perfect place to make your first donation, they are bright and modern with Wi-Fi, charging points, and you can often find appointments in the evenings and weekends.
