Shortage of blood reserves as donors stay home over coronavirus fears

코로나바이러스 기승으로 헌혈 급감, 혈액보유량 부족

As fear spreads over the outbreak in South Korea,... fewer people are donating blood.
Blood banks in the country are suffering from a shortage of reserves,... and are asking more people to consider being a donor.
Kim Bo-kyoung has the full story.
Most of the beds in this blood bank are empty.
It usually sees around 25 donors a day,... but after the coronavirus outbreak, only about half of the donors are visiting.
"As the number of confirmed cases with the virus keeps increasing, people are avoiding outdoor activities,... and this leads to a fall in the number of blood donors."
With people reluctant to donate blood, the number of donors has fallen sharply compared to the same time last year,... especially after the first patient was confirmed with the virus in January.
According to the Korean Red Cross,... less than 90-thousand individuals donated blood between January 21st and February 9th, which is around a 16-percent decrease on-year.
The number of group donors has also fallen by 25-percent on-year.
As a result, the blood bank is suffering from blood shortages.
"This fridge is where blood reserves are stored before being taken to hospitals for transfusions,... but as you can see, the reserves are running low."
Blood banks usually need to have at least 5 days of blood in reserve.
Yet, as of this Monday, there was less than five days of blood for all blood types, with just 3-point-7 days of reserves on average.
And if there isn't enough blood, then patients can't get treated.
"As people don’t donate blood, the amount of blood that is provided to hospitals decreases. Accordingly, surgeries that need blood could be delayed and patients won't be able to recover."
Some donors say this is the time when blood donations are even more important.
"I believe we need to donate blood especially at times like this because there might be patients who cannot have surgery due to a lack of blood."
The center says it is doing its best to prevent any possible spread of viruses.
Nurses check donors' temperatures and ask them to sterilize their hands.
Also the place where blood is taken is sterilized and nurses always wear masks.
KIM Bo-kyoung, Arirang News.

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