Blood Donation Centers See Drop in Visitors... "Fewer Than During MERS"

Blood Supply Emergency Due to COVID-19
Only One Day of Blood Stock Left Nationwide
Type A Already at 'Caution' Level
Strengthened Screening and Full Facility Disinfection
"No Risk of Infection at All"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-gi] On the afternoon of the 11th at the Blood Donation Center Seoul Station, there were many people passing through the stairs of subway line 2 exit 2 right next to it and crossing Seoul Station Plaza. However, it was hard to find citizens opening the door to donate blood. Upon entering the center, a staff member immediately handed over hand sanitizer. Then, a volunteer wearing a mask measured the temperature and guided the visitor to a computer for a health questionnaire. Thanks to the small number of waiting people, the blood pressure and other health conditions were checked right away, and the blood donation proceeded.

The reporter chose 'plasma donation,' which extracts only plasma, rather than 'whole blood donation,' which collects all components of the blood. Because of the process of separating blood components, plasma donation takes about 40 minutes, about 20 minutes longer than whole blood donation. There were seven blood collection machines in this center. Before the reporter entered, two people were donating blood, and during the donation, two more came in. Nurse Ryu Geum-young, who works at the Seoul Station Center, said, "Usually about 25 people visit per day, but recently it has dropped significantly to around 10. There was also a decrease in blood donations during the H1N1 flu and MERS outbreaks a few years ago, but this time seems worse."

The Korean Red Cross recently issued a public appeal for blood donation due to difficulties in blood supply. However, even a week after the appeal, there is no sign of an increase in blood donors. According to the Seoul Central Blood Center, the nationwide integrated blood stock as of today (the 13th) is 3.0 days. In particular, type A blood is at 2.5 days, entering the 'caution' stage of blood stock levels. The Red Cross classifies blood stock levels based on the average daily blood demand: less than 1 day as 'critical,' less than 2 days as 'warning,' less than 3 days as 'caution,' and less than 5 days as 'interest.' Not only type A, which has already entered the 'caution' stage, but the total blood volume is also at risk of entering the 'caution' stage soon.

As the COVID-19 situation prolongs, citizens are reluctant to visit blood donation centers where many unspecified people come and go, and there is concern about the possibility of infection during the blood collection process. The Red Cross has strengthened health questionnaires to exclude donors suspected of infectious diseases. They investigate the donor's condition on the day, recent fever, and cough symptoms. Donors who have traveled abroad within the last month are all excluded. Disinfection is carried out not only on blood collection equipment but also throughout the blood donation center facilities. Personal hand hygiene and mask-wearing by nurses who meet donors are also strictly observed. A Seoul Central Blood Center official stated, "All equipment used for blood donation is sterile and individually packaged. After one use, all are discarded, so there is absolutely no risk of infection with other diseases (including COVID-19) through blood donation."

The Seoul Central Blood Center reports that since the COVID-19 confirmed cases last month, although there are differences by blood donation center, the number of donors has decreased by about 30-50% compared to the previous year. From the 28th of last month to the 11th of this month, 273 group blood donations, totaling 13,916 people, canceled their donations.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.