Blood stocks in Cyprus are at dangerously low levels

Blood stocks in Cyprus are at dangerously low levels, the Head of the Blood Center, Androulla Panagiotou, told KYPE, who appeals to the public to come to the Blood Donation Stations and participate in the organized blood drives to donate blood.

Speaking to the Cyprus News Agency, Ms. Panagiotou said that the Blood Center has been facing a problem since the beginning of January, since a very large number of people suffering from coronavirus or Influenza A and B, has put many thousands of blood donors on temporary exclusion from donating blood, as a consequence the blood donor flow to show a noticeable decrease.

At the same time, Mrs. Panagiotou emphasized that the need for blood is very high, with the result that the struggle to find blood is daily.

Unfortunately, according to the Head of the Blood Center, "at this time we are not in a very good condition. It seems that the various viruses have affected the attendance rate. Also, at blood drives, where one expects to get enough blood, attendance is very low. We are in a bad situation," he notes.

Asked about the level of stocks at the moment, she said that the two-day safety stock, which is around 600 bottles and which the Center usually has, "doesn't exist at the moment".

He explained that 300 bottles of blood are needed every day, noting that currently there are not even 600 bottles in the Center's refrigerators to cover the safety stock.

Besides, answering a related question, he said that the attendance rate daily reaches around 250 blood donors, while on weekends 400 to 500 bottles of blood can be collected, a percentage, however, which according to Ms. Panagiotou is "extremely low".

He emphasized that the effort of the Blood Center to find stocks is "continuous and daily".

"We are trying to contact volunteers by phone. Most of them are sick and cannot come. Our daily struggle is to find blood," he said.

Source: KYPE