Blood supply in Kedah critical, only three days worth left

Kedah transfusion services chief Dr Siti Nadiah Abdul Kadir said following the Movement Control Order (MCO) 3.0, blood supply has dropped drastically by up to 50 per cent and at the same time, demand for blood has increased.

She said the Alor Setar Hospital Transfusion Department, which acts a blood bank for Kedah and Perlis, on average requires 150 bags of blood daily to meet patients' needs.

"The total is still needed even during the MCO. Before the MCO, blood collection is between 150 to 200 bags daily but now the collection has dropped to 75 to 100 bags a day," she said when contacted by Bernama here today.

She said hospitals in the state still have their own stocks of blood that can last for three to five days, but require blood supply from their centre on occasion.

"Hospital blood stocks can roughly last three to five days and are adequate for the hospital's use. If the centre's blood stocks decline, supply to hospitals will be reduced and will affect the daily stock at the hospital as well," she said.

She added that the cases that require blood transfusions include traffic accident victims, mothers who suffer blood loss during childbirth, patients undergoing major surgery and cancer patients, as well as Talasemia patients who require continuous blood transfusions.

Dr Siti Nadiah said the centre is also responsible for collecting, processing and screening blood supply for Perlis and the decline in blood collection rate of up to 50 per cent has also occurred there.

"We will continue to conduct major campaigns and promotions to encourage blood donations as well as cooperate with non-governmental organisations," she said and urged the public to visit any hospital to donate blood.