– The Thai Red Cross Society is inviting members of the public to donate blood during the Songkran holidays at the National Blood Center in Bangkok.
The Thai Red Cross Society’s summer blood donation campaign is designed to build reserves in the national blood bank during Songkran, as hospitals usually see a spike in emergency cases from road accidents, requiring blood as part of the treatment, at this time of year.
The Thai Red Cross anticipates it will need to deliver no less than 3,000 units of blood daily to treat patients, while the current amount in the blood bank falls short of this quantity.
Emergency cases from road accidents which require surgery usually need 2-3 units of blood to be available at the hospital, or 5-10 units for more complex case. Surgery will need to be pushed back should the hospital not have this amount of blood on hand.
At the National Blood Center in Bangkok today, only a few people were found visiting to donate blood this morning, as many people have already left on their trips, or may be concerned about the latest wave of COVID-19 cases.
The National Blood Center has arranged its facilities to ensure proper physical distancing, with 48 beds available for blood donations. People who go there to donate blood from now until 16th April will receive a face mask lanyard as a gift.
