Coronavirus fears drain Hong Kong's blood banks

The Hong Kong Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service says they're not collecting enough blood to meet even the 'minimum' demand. Image: Shutterstock

Dr Lee Cheuk-kwong talks to RTHK's Wendy Wong

Hong Kong’s blood banks are running low, and the Red Cross has been unable to collect even the ‘minimum’ amount of blood needed, as donor numbers plunge and blood drives have had to be cancelled amid the coronavirus epidemic.



The Hong Kong Red Cross Blood Transfusion Service says donations have dropped by around half to around 300 bags of blood per day since the Lunar New Year holidays.



“We do have the need to supply blood for patients like thalassemia patients, cancer patients, leukemia patients, and also cover some of the emergency situations”, Dr Lee Cheuk-kwong, chief executive of the service, said. “At the moment, we’re not able to reach the minimum amount of blood collection [needed].



Lee said the inventory of all blood types is currently very low, even though the Hospital Authority and private hospitals have postponed non-emergency surgeries.



He explained that with school suspended and many people working from home, blood drives targeting specific organisations have been cancelled.



“So we only rely on the donor centres to invite donors to come back, and as you know, many people are a bit scared to go out for a long time, so [fewer] people come forward for donation at our donor centres”, Lee explained.



He appealed to donors to come forward to donate, saying they can now pre-book scheduled slots to give blood at donation centres, to ensure that they can steer clear of any crowds, and have their blood taken without having to wait.



However, anyone who reports having been to the mainland over the past 28 days, or have had any contact with a confirmed coronavirus patient, will be turned away, he said.



Lee said donation figures rose a bit on Tuesday, and is optimistic that inventory levels can increase to more acceptable levels if more people come forward to donate blood over the next few weeks.