Hospital’s blood bank needs more blood

By MALINDA KALE
BLOOD collected in a day cannot cater for a hundred patients who need blood, Port Moresby General Hospital (PMGH) Blood Drive team leader Lawrence Oki says.
Oki said PMGH was the country’s largest referral hospital which serves the population of the National Capital District as well as Central and Gulf and the demand for blood was high.
He said currently the PMGH’s blood bank was running short because few blood drives had been conducted in the last three months and fewer people were visiting them to donate blood.
“In a day we usually collect 20 to 30 bags depending on the donor who comes in to donate as family replacement or voluntarily.
“However, this has dropped since some of our regular voluntary donors are not coming anymore and this means that our stocks are low and only for emergency purposes.”
Oki said the blood drive would start visiting businesses around the city and look to replenish its stocks.
He said having adequate stocks of blood was vital for healthcare services and emergencies.
Oki said blood was needed to save lives, treat conditions such as cancer, heart disease, stroke, hyper-tension and lifestyle diseases.
Meanwhile, National Finance Ltd staff donated blood yesterday through the Red Cross blood donation mobile drive after being made aware that PMGH was short of blood.
NFL managing director Chris McKeown said it was the first time for his staff to donate blood and they would continue to support the blood drive on a quarterly basis.
He said blood donations saved lives and it was beneficial for the donor’s health.
McKeown said was that about 90 per cent of his 68 staff had donated blood yesterday.