Vietnam Hospitals Call for Donations as Blood Bank Nears Shortage

Hospitals across Vietnam are calling on local citizens to donate blood at nearby healthcare facilities as the blood bank at the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion (NIHBT) is facing a severe shortage, especially of blood types A and O. The NIHBT has about 5,000 blood units, equivalent to 5,000 pints, which means that the volume is only enough for one week. The average adult has 10 pints of blood in his or her body. The institute, which is the largest blood bank in the north supplying blood to 120 provincial hospitals in the region, is seeking donations between June 22 and July 10 for 6,000 units of type O and 3,500 units of type A. Of Vietnam’s 90 million population, up to 99.96% have Rh+ (O+ or B+ or A+ or AB+) but only 0.04%-0.07% have Rh- (O- or B- or A- or AB-). According to the International Society of Blood Transfusion, any blood group accounting for under 0.1% of the population is deemed rare and under 0.01% very rare. The two types NIHBT are in short of are not rare blood types. The Ministry of Health is kick-starting a campaign in July to call on people throughout the country to donate blood. (tuoitre.vn June 25, laodong.com.vn June 24)