Demand for blood high, says doctor

THE demand for blood at the Port Moresby General Hospital (PMGH) is high because of the increase in the number of patients, a doctor says.
Speaking during a blood drive hosted by Sesago Healthcare Ltd yesterday, PMGH blood transfusion services manager Dr Amos Lano said on average, 40 bags of blood were needed daily at PMGH (which equates to 90 to 100 people needing blood) but they were not receiving an adequate number of bags.
He said on average, 60 bags were donated daily but after screening and discarding, that number dropped.
Dr Lano said since PMGH had the only blood bank in the city, it supplied blood to other health facilities, including the private hospitals such as Paradise Private and Pacific International hospitals.
“The demand is really huge,” he said.
“Blood is not manufactured and cannot be procured from pharmaceutical companies.
“It has to come from another human being and we encourage voluntary donations.”
Dr Lano said the challenge they faced was around awareness to educate the people on the importance and benefits of donating blood.
“Donating blood, most importantly, save lives,” he said.
He said during the lockdown, they were relying on family members, but now that businesses were open, the mobile blood bank was carrying out regular blood collections.
Sesago marketing manager Pradeep Panda said the blood drive was set up in response to the demand at PMGH and their staff were encouraged to donate.