Tuesday, 19 July 2011

Pump up blood stocks

Many people can face death in emergency situations if there is an insufficient supply of blood. This warning came from the South African National Blood Service (SANBS) after blood levels plummeted to a critical low last week in KwaZulu-Natal. And Zululand is no exception as local blood donor clinics continue to battle to increase the one-day supply of blood throughout the province. SANBS spokesperson Ianthe Exall told the Zululand Observer on Wednesday that blood stocks had since reached a two-day supply, but it was ‘still a long way to go to reach the ideal four to five day supply’. ‘Zululand is also battling just like everywhere else countrywide,’ said Exall. ‘We are moving blood around to the most needy areas and hospitals throughout the country. ‘Nationally, about 3 000 units of blood are needed every day. ‘We need around 500 units of blood for the hospital on a daily basis, so we are looking at between 500 people in KZN to come in on a daily basis and 3 000 nationally, which just saves patients that need blood transfusion,’ said Exall. With the situation still in the red, Exall said they had asked hospitals to put elective surgeries on hold until they could improve levels. ‘Hospitals are cutting back on elective surgery so that they can cater for emergency situations like accidents where people can die as a result of a blood shortage. ‘The service is struggling to reach the targeted 3 000 units per day. ‘It has been collecting less than 1 000 a day. ‘Many hospitals, including some here in KZN, ran out of blood in their emergency fridges and had to get stocks from other facilities,’ added Exall.

Flu impact
The cold weather coupled with the flu season as well as the school holidays have been blamed for the drop in collections. ‘Flu and colds have been particularly bad this year and people have to wait until they fully recover to donate blood. ‘We are planning some big school clinics as soon as schools reopen and are hanging in there. ‘We are constantly monitoring the situation at hospitals,’ added Exall. The Zululand Blood Donor Centre thanked the public for responding to the urgent blood call last week and encouraged donors to visit their mobile blood clinics. For more information, contact 035 7893610.