NAKHON RATCHASIMA: Many hospitals in this northeastern province are reporting a dire shortage of blood for transfusions, with donors scared off by the new wave of Covid-19 infections.
Sirilak Piakkhunthod, chief of the 5th National Blood Centre of the Thai Red Cross Society, said the shortage dated back to mid-December, when the latest outbreak began. Adding to the problem, all blood donation units at schools, universities and private companies were closed during the long New Year holiday.
Since they reopened on Jan 4, she said, the Covid-19 pandemic had become more serious and scared away potential donors. As a result, the Red Cross blood centre was unable to fill requests from some hospitals.
Before the latest outbreak, the centre had been supplying about 500 bags of blood a day to hospitals. Red Cross mobile units accepted donations at universities, schools, factories and government offices and there was a sufficient supply. Since then, schools and universities have been temporarily closed and the number of donors at blood centres has dropped by about 90%. The shortage has become a big problem for hospitals in need of blood for patients undergoing surgery, Ms Sirilak said.
As news of the shortage spread yesterday, people began arriving at the Red Cross blood donation unit at the Terminal 21 shopping centre in Muang district. Many were young people.
Rattanasuda Santiprasert, 24, was among those who gave blood after hearing of the shortage from social media. She believed the Covid-19 situation in Nakhon Ratchasima (also known as Korat) was controllable and was confident all blood-taking units operated by the Red Cross had reliable hygiene standards and posed no risk of infection.
Ms Sirilak said people could donate blood at six venues in the province: the 5th National Blood Centre in Muang district, Terminal 21 shopping centre, Nakhon Ratchasima Rajabhat University, Maharat Nakhon Ratchasima Hospital, The Mall shopping centre and the provincial office of the Thai Red Cross Society.