Blood Supply In South Korean Hospitals Plunge Due To The Influx Of Post-Holiday Surgeries

Hospitals in South Korea are now facing a rapid decrease in blood reserves, tjhe Korea Joong Ang Daily reported Friday.

According to the report, blood supplies in South Korea's Red Cross usually drop in the winter as blood donors gradually decline diue to the winter vacation.

Another contributing factor to this shortage was the outbreak of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) during summer of last yer. The outbreak caused massive shutdowns of more than 80 hospitals in the country, which were visited by patients confirmed to have been infected with MERS.

Blood Service Headquarters Director, Kwon Hye Ran, said they were really in need of blood donations, specifically, blood types O and A. The demand of the situation prompted the issuance of a yellow alert in all of South Korea's blood centers by the Korean Red Cross. The alter will be raised to code orange if no significant progress is made. 

"As surgeries got pushed to the second half of last year, the amount of blood reserves dramatically plunged," Director Kwon said. 

Moreover, the shortage of blood has forced small and medium-sized hospitals in suburban areas to transfer emergency patients to bigger ones.

"If an emergency patient comes to our hospital, he or she has to be transported to a university hospital in Daejeon or Cheonan," a Gongju Medical Center officer commented.

Records from the Blood Service Headquarters noted that 60 percent of blood donors are mostly men in the early 20s or their late teens.

The report also noted that South Korea had a total of 3.2-day blood supply as of Tuesday last week. This record is lower than the general reserves for five days.

However, "the reserves jumped slightly to 2.5 days for type O from 1.9 days, the low on Jan. 8, and 2.3 days for type A from 1.8 days" because of the blood drive activities conducted by public organizations and military camps.