He said among the factors leading to the shortage were safety concerns by the public and donors during the blood donation process as well as cancellation of planned blood donation programmes due to the pandemic.
“This declining trend is extremely worrying and can affect our capacity to treat patients,” he said in a statement today.
Noor Hisham said the health ministry, the National Blood Centre (PDN) and blood banks had always prioritised the safety of donors, blood donation campaign organisers and staff members to ensure a safe environment.
He said each blood bank must comply with existing SOPs to improve public safety based on the protocols in the “Guidelines for Prevention and Control During Blood Donation Activities to Curb the Transmission of Infectious Diseases, Covid-19-Annex 49″.
According to him, the guidelines were updated recently in line with international guidelines that require blood donors and health workers to be certified healthy before entering blood donation venues.
“This includes conducting preliminary screening on prospective donors. Only those who show no symptoms or have had no close contact with Covid-19 patients during the previous 14 days are allowed to donate blood,” he said.
“The arrival of donors at the donation venues is always monitored and limited to a certain number at a time to ensure physical distancing during the donation process,” he said.
Noor Hisham said registration desks, blood donation equipment, beds and stress balls are continuously cleaned by health staff.
He said blood donation needs to continue even though the country was facing the Covid-19 pandemic as it was to help patients in need.
This includes patients involved in accidents or complications during childbirth, premature babies who lack blood, thalassaemia patients, cancer patients, patients with kidney failure as well as those who need to undergo critical or complex surgeries, he said.
He said of late, there had also been many Covid-19 patients, especially those with a background of chronic diseases, who needed transfusions.
Noor Hisham said the average amount of blood needed per week for patient use nationwide was 14,000 bags of blood, of which 3,500 to 4,000 bags of blood per week were needed to supply to hospitals in the Klang Valley.
The ministry has called on the public to come forward to donate blood at PDN’s Donation Suite in Midvalley Mall or the Puspanita Blood Donation Suite in Presint 10, Putrajaya. They can also donate at nearby blood banks as well as during mobile blood donation campaigns.
The PDN on Jalan Tun Razak also operates Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 8pm and from 8am to 4pm on weekends.
The PDN site at Midvalley Mall and the Puspanita centre in Putrajaya operate daily from 10am to 6pm.
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