Ho Chi Minh City is facing a shortage of blood for medical transfusion as donation is hampered by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

The Ho Chi Minh City Hospital of Blood Transfusion and Hematology (BTH) – which maintains the city’s largest blood bank – said in a notice on Monday that its blood bank is still sufficient for delivery at the request of other hospitals, but it will not remain so for much longer.

According to BTH director Phu Chi Dung, the daily amount of blood the hospital received through donations between March 23 and 28 was only 50 percent of the volume it distributed to other hospitals.

The percentage has dropped to ten percent from March 29 until now, he said.

Dung said the shortfall results from the cancelation of most mobile blood drives in April in response to the government’s social distancing advisory and ban on public gatherings of more than two people.

The nationwide implementation of social distancing, which calls on residents to limit traveling and going outdoors unless under absolutely necessary circumstances, took effect on April 1 and will last until April 15.

Meanwhile, restrictions on large gatherings, meetings or events have been imposed since March 16.

Only two brick-and-mortar blood donation points at BTH and the Ho Chi Minh City Blood Donation Center remain open all week.

Only about 10-50 people make a blood donation at each of these two venues per day.

Dung anticipated that the shortage would reach an alarming level by April 10.

“Blood scarcity will become a reality in the city, leading to insufficient supply in the foreseeable future,” he said.

To address the issue, BTH has collaborated with the city’s Red Cross Society and the Blood Donation Center to carry out mobile blood donation activities as planned, especially on the National Blood Donation day on April 7.

The hospital, through the municipal Department of Health, has called on medical employees and family members of patients to donate blood. 

At the same time, it has recommended that other hospitals use blood sparingly and only when absolutely necessary, giving priority to life-threatening emergencies, the elderly, newborns, and people with heart and lung diseases.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!