O Blood Group Experiencing High Demand, Donors Needed: Ong Ye Kung
When we’re healthy, we may not notice the existence of blood banks. However, when you or a loved one needs surgery urgently, they may save a life.
However, to do that they require donations from eligible members of the public to maintain healthy levels.
That’s why Health Minister Ong Ye Kung has appealed to Singaporeans for donations of the O blood group.
Source: Nguyễn Hiệp on Unsplash
Stocks are depleting fast, he said, partly due to the travelling season that has disrupted donations.
Donors needed as O blood group stocks are depleting fast
Mr Ong made the appeal in a speech on Saturday (17 June) during a World Blood Donor Day event at the Singapore Expo.
Source: Singapore Red Cross
He said the O blood group has been experiencing high demand from patients.
Thus, stocks have been depleting fast.
O+ & O- blood group at low level, donors needed
According to the Singapore Red Cross website, O+ and O- blood types are currently at a low level as of Friday (16 June).
Source: Singapore Red Cross
While stocks of AB- are also running low, the O blood group is more urgently required as it’s the universal blood group.
That means it can be used by patients of any blood group during times of emergency.
Travelling season has disrupted blood donation
One of the reasons why blood is needed is that we’re currently in the middle of the June school holidays, Mr Ong explained.
That means more people are travelling, causing blood donations to get disrupted.
Elaborating on this, the minister revealed something that many might not know: Once people have travelled to certain countries, they cannot donate blood for a number of weeks.
He thus advised donors to donate blood before they travel to help raise our blood stocks to healthy and sustainable levels.
Source: Ong Ye Kung on Facebook
Blood stocks at low to moderate levels since January
Unfortunately, the situation hasn’t been good for close to half a year now, Mr Ong said.
In fact, Singapore’s blood stocks have stayed at low to moderate levels since January.
Besides the current travelling season, more patients have been using blood recently since we entered DORSCON Green in February.
This is happening as hospitals are catching up on elective surgeries and treatments postponed during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mr Ong also noted a “unique episode” in July 2022, when A+ and O+ blood stocks went close to falling below critical levels.
Blood Donors With A+ & O+ Types Called To Step Forward, Stocks Are Running Low
This led him to make a personal appeal over Facebook.
However, overall blood collection has by and large generally kept pace with demand over the past few years and through the pandemic, he added.
Ong Ye Kung himself can’t donate blood
Mr Ong also said that despite being Health Minister, he’s not allowed to donate blood.
That’s because he lived in the United Kingdom (UK) during his undergraduate days and may be potentially exposed to Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD).
vCJD, also known as “mad cow disease”, is a rare and serious degenerative neurological disorder caused by the accumulation of abnormal proteins in the brain.
This can be linked to the consumption of contaminated beef products in certain countries.
The disease can incubate in an infected person for decades.
However, Singapore will relax this restriction later this year and allow people like him to donate blood, the minister announced — in a move also made in countries like the United States (US) and Australia.
This is due to an advancement in medical science where potential disease-transmitting white blood cells can be removed from transfused blood.
“This will contribute to a more stable blood supply in Singapore,” said Mr Ong.
Check your eligibility
According to the Red Cross, to be eligible to donate blood, you must:
- be aged between 16 and 60 (youths aged 16 and 17 will need to bring a signed parental consent form)
- weigh at least 45kg
- be in good health
- not have symptoms of infection (e.g. sore throat, cough, runny nose, diarrhoea) for at least one week
- not have suffered from fever in the last four weeks
- not have consumed antibiotics in the past week
- have a haemoglobin level of at least 12.5g/dL for females, and at least 13.0g/dL for males (a test will be administered at the donation site)
An eligibility quiz can be taken here. Do note that if you’ve travelled recently, you may not be able to donate either.
Once eligible, you can make an appointment to give blood at the Red Cross website using SingPass.
A list of these walk-in blood donation venues can be found here. The Red Cross can also be contacted at 6220 0183 to check eligibility or opening hours, and make an appointment.
If you fit the criteria, consider dropping by a blood bank to donate blood. By doing so, you could save many lives.
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Featured image adapted from Nguyễn Hiệp on Unsplash.
