Annette Lu urges nation to donate blood

Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) urged people to donate blood yesterday after all six national blood centers reported acute shortages.

Lin Kuo-sin (林國信), chairman of the Chinese Blood Services Foundation (CBSF), said that in the Taipei Blood Center (TBC) supplies of type O blood, the most common blood group, are down to two days worth.

The TBC's supplies of type AB blood are also down to two days worth while type B blood has supplies to last for only one more day, Lin reported, adding that if more people donate he hopes the TBC will be able to boost blood supplies to at least seven days worth.

TBC head nurse Chou Yu-fen (周玉芬) said blood shortages often occur during the winter and summer vacations because fewer students go to the blood donation stations near their schools.

Last year, 7.5 percent of people in Taiwan donated blood. "In the same period, only 5.2 percent of Americans and 4.9 percent of Japanese donated blood," Lu said.

"The percentage of blood donors in Taiwan is the highest in the world. Moreover, Taiwan's six blood centers have all passed the ISO [International Organization for Standardization] certification," Lu said.

While encouraging blood donation and praising the high percentage of blood donation in Taiwan, Lu said she could not donate her blood because she traveled to Indonesia last year.

"Those who travel to quarantined areas are prohibited from blood donation for a year. I traveled to Indonesia last year and Gambia in 2001. Both are quarantined areas," Lu said.

Nevertheless, Lu's bodyguards and staff in her office donated blood at the TBC yesterday. DPP Deputy Secretary-General Lee Ying-yuan (李應元) also donated blood at the donation station in the Taipei Main Station.

Lu also called for more women to donate blood. TBC statistics show that 60 percent of people donating their blood are males.

According to the TBC, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) has donated blood three times, while Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has donated blood more than a hundred times.

Taiwan's five other blood centers are located in Hsinchu, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung and Hualien.

According to the TBC, the age group between 21 and 30 made up 12.91 percent of blood donors in 2001, the highest amongst all age groups. Students represented 25.66 percent of blood donors in the same year.