Taiwan Blood Service Foundation yesterday launched a blood drive targeting people with type A and type O blood to replenish reserve stocks amid a nationwide shortage in the months leading to the Lunar New Year.
The blood drive began yesterday and would run through Jan. 27 next year, foundation executive officer Wei Sheng-tang (魏昇堂) told a news conference in Taipei.
Taiwanese hospitals had less than seven days’ worth of blood supply, lower than the minimum safety margin, he said.
Photo: Liao Hsueh-ju, Taipei Times
Type O and type A blood supplies fell to urgent levels of 3.1 days and 4.4 days respectively, he said, adding that about 50 percent of Taiwanese have those blood types, making its shortage concerning.
Type O is a universal donor type, which means it can be used for people with type A, type B and type AB blood, but the reverse is not true, Wei said.
Taipei Veterans General Hospital hematologist Chen Wen-chun (陳玟均) said she had routinely donated blood before learning that she had anemia during a pregnancy check-up.
Chen said she had a dangerous complication during childbirth, but survived thanks to a massive 2 liter blood transfusion and added that the event convinced her to continue donating blood despite her condition.
Taiwan Osteogenesis Imperfecta secretary-general Cheng Chien-chih (程健智) said he is prone to fractures due to a congenital condition, which had resulted in dozens of surgeries and required many transfusions.
Cheng said his survival is proof that blood donations save lives and that he hoped Taiwanese would continue to donate blood.
Event organizers said that according to the law, people who are allowed to donate blood are those between ages 17 and 65, men who weigh more than 50kg and women who weigh more than 45kg.
Male donors must have a hemoglobin concentration of at least 13 grams per deciliter (gm/dl), and female donors must have a hemoglobin concentration of at least 12 gm/dl, event organizers said.
Blood donors should have a good night’s sleep and refrain from drinking alcohol for eight hours before giving blood, they said.
People who traveled to areas affected by dengue fever, malaria or blood-transmitted diseases could be barred from donating blood for up to one year, depending on the region, they added.
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