Its director, Dr Noryati Abu Amin, also dismissed claims that the stock of blood in hospitals had depleted to “critical” levels.

“The National Blood Centre wants to stress that the information in the message is false and can cause misunderstanding among the public,” she said in a statement today.

“The supply of blood across the country has shown an encouraging increase lately despite the country facing the Covid-19 pandemic.

“This is because concerned donors have come forward consistently to help patients in need.”

In an interview with a news portal last month, Noryati said there was a decrease in the number of people coming forward to give blood because of the rise in the number of Covid-19 cases in certain states.

She said vaccinated individuals interested in donating blood should wait for seven days after receiving their jabs as it would ensure donors are at an “optimum” health level.