Red Cross Blood Stocks Run Low as Donations Dry Up

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The stocks of blood available with the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) have depleted 30-50 percent due to a decline in blood donations amid the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an official.

The PMI currently has sufficient blood to last just two days compared to four days worth of blood before the COVID-19 pandemic, chief of PMI's blood donor unit, Linda Lukitari Waseso, said during a discussion at the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) building here on Friday.

The agency’s blood stocks have continued to fall during the COVID-19 pandemic, she stated. In fact, they plunged by up to 70 percent when the government announced the first confirmed COVID-19 case in the country, she added.

PMI’s stocks of blood again declined by 70 percent when Muslims performed fasting during the holy month of Ramadhan in May, 2020, she revealed.

A lack of blood donations has been recorded in all parts of the country, she revealed. The blood needs of a region depend on the size of its population. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the number of blood donors in a region should be at least 20 percent of its population.

Hence, PMI has urged the entire Indonesian nation to donate blood to help patients in dire need of routine blood transfusions, Waseso stated. She also said citizens need not be afraid of contracting a coronavirus infection while donating blood at PMI's blood donor units across Indonesia.

PMI has adopted health protocols for blood donations amid the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure the safety of blood donors and health officers, she explained.

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ANTARA