SANAA, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- Yemen's National Blood Transfusion Center sent an urgent appeal for immediate help, as it may be forced to close down due to a lack of money, head of the state-run center said on Tuesday.
"The center issued an urgent appeal through the state media outlets on Sunday, urging all international humanitarian agencies, charities, businessmen, anyone who is interested to provide help to keep the center operating," Ayman al-Shahari said.
He added that the closure of the center would be "a big disaster" for the country.
The crisis hit the center when the French medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) decided to stop their aid and support, said al-Shahari.
MSF has informed the center that it had handed over the aid to the World Health Organization to help combat the spreading of cholera epidemic, he said.
"The center has been working hard since the war erupted more than two years ago until now to provide patients with blood bags, medical solutions and other medical needs," he said.
"But now the center suffers from a full shortage of supplies to meet the increasing daily needs," he added.
The civil war started in Yemen in March 2015, after Saudi-led coalition intervened in the conflict by launching a large-scale air campaign to back internationally recognized Yemeni government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, who invaded the capital Sanaa militarily and seized most of the northern Yemeni provinces.
According to UN agencies, more than 10,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed during more than two years of the war that also displaced over 3 million.
The country has now on the edge of famine and is suffering from a deadly cholera outbreak that infected more than 600,000 people and killed nearly 2,000.
