No more blood to save lives
The People's Committee of Soc Trang province has just sent an official dispatch to the People's Committee of Can Tho city requesting support to resolve difficulties related to blood shortage. Accordingly, Soc Trang province said that the shortage of blood and blood products at medical facilities in the region has been prolonged and increasingly serious, greatly affecting people's health care.
In particular, in Soc Trang province, Soc Trang General Hospital alone needs an average of 800 - 1,000 units of blood per month from Can Tho City Hematology and Blood Transfusion Hospital to meet the needs of emergency and treatment for patients. However, Can Tho City Hematology and Blood Transfusion Hospital has temporarily stopped blood donations since September 5th.
 |
Can Tho City Hematology and Blood Transfusion Hospital currently has no more blood collection bags and blood screening chemicals to receive humanitarian blood donations. |
Previously, Can Tho City Hematology and Blood Transfusion Hospital issued Official Dispatch No. 780/HHTM-KHTH on the temporary suspension of blood product delivery to medical facilities in the Mekong Delta region. Specifically, the hospital will temporarily suspend blood and blood product delivery from September 5, 2023 and will only deliver blood and blood products in emergency cases.
The reason given by Can Tho City Hematology and Blood Transfusion Hospital is due to difficulties in bidding for the purchase of chemicals, supplies, and medical equipment in 2023-2024. Therefore, the hospital currently has no more blood collection bags and blood screening chemicals.
 |
| Doctors treating patients at the Department of Intensive Care and Anti-Poison (Soc Trang General Hospital) |
Dr. Dang Minh Hien, Director of Soc Trang General Hospital, said: For about a month now, the blood shortage at the hospital has been continuous, causing many difficulties in the treatment and care of patients. Even blood for emergency needs, the hospital has had to struggle to basically meet the demand.
Faced with the above difficulties, Vice Chairwoman of the People's Committee of Soc Trang province Huynh Thi Diem Ngoc expressed: We hope that the People's Committee of Can Tho city will pay attention to directing and promptly removing difficulties and obstacles in bidding and purchasing chemicals, supplies and medical equipment, in order to create conditions for the Hematology - Blood Transfusion Hospital of Can Tho city to continue to implement the work of receiving blood, ensuring the source of blood and blood products for medical facilities in the Mekong Delta region in general and Soc Trang province in particular.
Want to donate blood but can not
Can Tho City Hematology and Blood Transfusion Hospital is a blood supplier for 74 hospitals and medical facilities in the Mekong Delta region. However, recently on October 17, the hospital continued to issue an "urgent" announcement about only 86 units of blood left in the warehouse. While the weekly blood supply demand for the Mekong Delta is from 2,800 to 3,000 units of blood, equivalent to 12,000 to 15,000 units of blood per month, and platelet kits from 300 to 400 units/month.
According to information from many hospitals in the Mekong Delta region, the shortage and scarcity of blood resources in the region has occurred since after the Lunar New Year 2023 and has been increasingly serious until now. Meanwhile, many people who want to participate in humanitarian blood donation to save lives are still unable to donate blood.
 |
| People in the Mekong Delta currently want to donate blood to save lives but cannot do so. |
As a regular blood donor, Mr. Nguyen Van Duong (residing in Ninh Kieu district, Can Tho city) said: Every year, I donate blood at least 4 times, not to mention the occasional blood donations. However, recently when it was time to donate, I went to the blood collection location but could not donate blood. The reason I received was that there were no more blood bags and blood test reagents, so even though I really wanted to donate blood, I had to go home.
Dr. Chung Tan Dinh, Director of the Obstetrics and Pediatrics Hospital, shared: Blood resources play an important role in emergency care and treatment for patients, directly related to people's lives. We hope that the authorities of Can Tho City will soon have solutions to completely resolve the existing problems, difficulties and obstacles so that blood resources can continue to be fully and promptly supplied. This is the common desire of many hospitals and medical facilities in the region.
Mr. Nguyen Xuan Viet, Director of Can Tho City Hematology and Blood Transfusion Hospital, affirmed: If there were sufficient chemicals, supplies, and medical equipment to serve the work of receiving blood from humanitarian blood donations, the Mekong Delta would not have the current blood shortage. In fact, from 2008 to 2021, the hospital still had blood to support Hanoi (Bach Mai Hospital), Ho Chi Minh City (Cho Ray Hospital)...
The blood shortage started in 2022, when the centralized bidding method (conducted by the Can Tho City Department of Health) was changed to the method in which hospitals in the city had to bid for medicines, equipment, and medical supplies themselves. However, due to difficulties in bidding procedures, bidding has not been possible since 2022. Because of the prolonged bidding procedure, medical supplies such as blood bags, medicines, and blood screening chemicals are in serious shortage and cannot be deployed to receive donated blood.
 |
Mr. Nguyen Xuan Viet, Director of Can Tho City Hematology and Blood Transfusion Hospital |
Mr. Nguyen Xuan Viet said: In the past time, Can Tho City Hematology and Blood Transfusion Hospital has tried to maintain blood supply for the provinces thanks to the source from the Central Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, Ho Chi Minh City Hematology and Blood Transfusion Hospital, Cho Ray Hospital... To solve the current tense blood shortage situation, the hospital has also sent an urgent dispatch to report to the levels and departments of Can Tho City. The city leaders and related departments, along with the hospital, have also sat down to discuss drastic solutions but have not yet found a solution.
In the immediate future, Can Tho City Hematology and Blood Transfusion Hospital is prioritizing the rapid promotion of bidding packages with blood bags and blood screening chemicals. At the same time, it continues to send official dispatches requesting units in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi to support blood sources during the current period of scarcity.
Source
Comment (0)