A Daegu public servant who tested positive for Covid-19 on 23 Feb was found to have donated blood at a donation drive a little over a week before.
In total, 6 people had donated their blood before tests confirmed they had Covid-19, reported South Korean broadcaster KBS.
Half of that blood had been transferred to 9 recipients before the discovery was made.
It is unclear whether the public servant in Daegu – an epicentre for Covid-19 – had Covid-19 before or after the blood donation event on Thursday (13 Feb).
Source
All that’s certain is that he tested positive for Covid-19 on 23 Feb, along with 5 other donors.
The main concern now is that 9 patients had received the donors’ blood before stocks was recalled. There’s currently no word on the 9 individuals.
Upon the discovery, the Red Cross discarded the donated blood, save for a portion of blood plasma, to be used for research.
As of Monday (9 Mar), South Korea has reported 248 new cases, accounting for a total of 7,382 Covid-19 cases, reported The Straits Times.
This news will undoubtedly spook people since the idea that blood transfusion can spread viruses is a popular one.
But the issue is arguably one of being in close proximity with others, not the blood transfusions themselves.
The American federal agency Food and Drug Administration (FDA) says on their website that as Covid-19 is a respiratory virus, there’s no evidence showing transmission via blood tranfusions.
MS News has reached out to HSA regarding this matter and will update this article as soon as we get more information.
To play safe, you should still avoid donating blood if you’ve shown respiratory symptoms or a fever in the past 2 weeks.
Otherwise, if you’re healthy, HSA will gladly welcome blood donations as stocks have been running low.
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Featured image adapted from The Korea Times.
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