Blood drives organized to ease shortage amid COVID-19 epidemic in Vietnam
Sunday, April 12, 2020, 17:52 GMT+7
Blood drives have been organized in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City as blood shortage has become more serious in the country amid the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) epidemic.
The Ho Chi Minh City Hospital of Blood Transfusion and Hematology (BTH) has coordinated one such blood drive with the city’s Red Cross Society and blood donation center.
Donors were required to make an appointment via the hotline 0919660010 in order to prevent the gathering of too many people at the same time.
A blood drive at the Ho Chi Minh City Hospital of Blood Transfusion and Hematology
BTH director Phu Chi Dung has previously warned that the hospital’s blood bank would soon dry up.
The daily amount of blood the hospital received through donations between March 23 and 28 was only 50 percent of the volume it had distributed to other hospitals.
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| Donors have their body temperature measured and are asked to sanitize their hands before entering the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion in Hanoi. Photo: Viet Dung / Tuoi Tre |
The percentage has dropped to ten percent from March 29 until now, he said.
The shortfall resulted 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, Dung explained.
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| Stools are spaced to prevent the spread of COVID-19 at a blood drive in Hanoi. Photo: Viet Dung / Tuoi Tre |
Bach Quoc Khanh, head of the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion (NIHBT) in Hanoi, stated that the institute receives only up to 100 units of blood every day, while hospitals need about 700 units of blood per day to treat patients.
A unit is equal to 250 milliliters of blood in Vietnam.
About 70 blood drives have been canceled since the Lunar New Year holiday that ended in early February on account of the COVID-19 epidemic, Khanh elaborated.
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| Health workers are pictured at a blood drive at the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion in Hanoi. Photo: Viet Dung / Tuoi Tre |
Following the organization of a recent blood donation campaign, about 350-400 people donate their blood at the NIHBT every day.
Safety measures have been taken to prevent COVID-19 transmission during these events.
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| A blood drive at the Ho Chi Minh City Hospital of Blood Transfusion and Hematology. Photo: T.T.D. / Tuoi Tre |
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| A donor has her blood pressure measured at the Ho Chi Minh City Hospital of Blood Transfusion and Hematology. Photo: T.T.D. / Tuoi Tre |
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| Donated blood is collected at the blood drive. Photo: T.T.D. / Tuoi Tre |
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| A woman waits for her turn to donate blood at the Ho Chi Minh City Hospital of Blood Transfusion and Hematology. Photo: T.T.D. / Tuoi Tre |
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| A health worker prepares a donor for his blood donation. Photo: T.T.D. / Tuoi Tre |
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| Employees pull blood transport boxes at the Ho Chi Minh City Hospital of Blood Transfusion and Hematology. Photo: T.T.D. / Tuoi Tre |
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