Untangling this end gets the other end stuck
On February 9, information from a number of medical facilities in the Mekong Delta said that they had just received a document from the Can Tho City Hematology and Blood Transfusion Hospital requesting consideration of blood transfusion in emergency situations in an effective and economical manner; Can Tho City Hematology and Blood Transfusion Hospital only dispenses emergency blood, and emergency cases must be approved by the hospital leadership.
This document is sent to 74 medical facilities in the provinces and cities of the Mekong Delta that use blood from the Can Tho City Hematology and Blood Transfusion Hospital; including Can Tho Central General Hospital, a hospital under the Ministry of Health in the Mekong Delta.
Patients waiting for platelet transfusion at Can Tho City Hematology and Blood Transfusion Hospital
The reason for the blood shortage is that Can Tho City Hematology and Blood Transfusion Hospital has not been able to accept voluntary blood donations yet, because it is waiting for a bidding process to purchase gifts and snacks for blood donors in the Mekong Delta region.
The situation became more difficult when recently, the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion announced that it would stop providing blood (red blood cells) to the Hematology and Blood Transfusion Hospital in Can Tho City due to the cold weather in the North and the time before Tet, causing many difficulties for blood donation.
Meanwhile, it is noted that the demand for blood and blood products for emergency use (red blood cells) during the 2024 Lunar New Year at medical facilities in the Mekong Delta region is very large, with an estimated shortage of about 4,700 units of red blood cells for use during the holiday.
Previously, due to difficulties in bidding procedures for blood bags, blood screening chemicals, blood receiving and production activities at the Can Tho City Hematology and Blood Transfusion Hospital, the Mekong Delta blood bank was paralyzed for many months, leading to a severe and prolonged blood shortage in the Mekong Delta.
By the end of 2023, the bidding packages for blood bags and screening chemicals will be completed, but another recurring difficulty is that the bidding packages for purchasing gifts and snacks for blood donors have not been approved by the Can Tho City People's Committee.
Run for every unit of blood
Faced with a blood shortage during the 2024 Lunar New Year in the Mekong Delta, Can Tho Central General Hospital has just sent an urgent dispatch to the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion and the National Blood Center requesting support for the hospital with 3,000 units of red blood cells/month.
Dr. Le Hoang Phuc, Head of Planning and Synthesis Department, Can Tho Central General Hospital, said that as the final hospital under the Ministry of Health in the Mekong Delta, the hospital is responsible for receiving serious cases transferred from provinces and cities. However, the current situation of blood supply and blood products in the Mekong Delta is facing many difficulties, not meeting the requirements for patient treatment even in emergency cases.
Blood collection and production activities in the Mekong Delta are stagnant, directly affecting patients.
"The hospital's blood bank currently has about 1,200 units of red blood cells and uses about 300 units each week. However, platelets alone are almost gone. Most of the emergency cases of platelet deficiency must be transferred to Ho Chi Minh City. In cases where they cannot be transferred, the hospital must go to neighboring hospitals to ask for platelet support," said Dr. Phuc.
According to Dr. Phuc, because Can Tho Hematology and Blood Transfusion Hospital continues to face difficulties in bidding procedures and does not have enough blood to supply, the hospital must contact Ho Chi Minh City Hematology and Blood Transfusion Hospital, Cho Ray Hospital, and Kien Giang General Hospital to proactively find blood sources to ensure professional work.
Talking to Thanh Nien reporters about the blood shortage at Can Tho City Hematology and Blood Transfusion Hospital, Director of Can Tho City Department of Health Hoang Quoc Cuong said that the 2023 Bidding Law has just come into effect, there are no decrees or circulars guiding it, so the bidding for gifts and snacks for blood donors has not yet been implemented.
"In this situation, the Hematology and Blood Transfusion Hospital has proposed that instead of giving gifts such as milk and sugar, blood donors can be given gasoline coupons because gasoline prices are listed nationwide so there is no need to bid. The Department of Health has also directed the Hematology and Blood Transfusion Hospital to immediately follow this direction while waiting for the bidding for gifts and snacks for blood donors, in order to maintain the blood donation reception activities, ensuring there is no blood shortage," said Mr. Cuong.
Blood reserves in Western hospitals are very limited, especially platelets.
According to the Director of Can Tho Department of Health, the department has sent an official dispatch to Can Tho City People's Committee requesting approval in principle for Can Tho City Hematology and Blood Transfusion Hospital to select in-kind gifts as shopping gift vouchers in a form suitable to regulations. At the same time, the department also sent an official dispatch requesting the City Red Cross Society and Can Tho City Hematology and Blood Transfusion Hospital to organize the selection of in-kind gifts for blood donors; continue to implement the blood donation campaign plan of the Steering Committee for Voluntary Blood Donation Campaign of Can Tho City.
However, by the afternoon of February 9, the selection of gifts in kind, such as gift vouchers for shopping in a suitable form for blood donors at the Hematology and Blood Transfusion Hospital of Can Tho City, had not yet received specific instructions from the People's Committee of Can Tho City.
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