Singapore needs to double the number of blood donors here to meet the target recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), the Singapore Red Cross Society said today.
Currently, about one per cent of Singapore’s population are blood donors. The target recommended by the WHO is two per cent.
As Singapore marks World Blood Donor Day, the Singapore Red Cross is encouraging more people to come forward to donate blood.
It also wants them to start young.
Director of operations of the Red Cross Society, Cecilia Tan, said there has been a slight increase in the number of blood donors.
Last year, there were 67,310 donors, compared with 63,796 in 2010, representing an increase of 6 per cent.
The Red Cross Society expects about 70,000 donors this year.
Ms Tan said that besides getting more people to donate blood, it also has to meet changing demands.
“We are meeting targets, but there will be times where we would need to urgently increase the number. Blood requirement is organic and it changes every day,” she said.
“If today, the hospital requires more ‘A’ blood, for example, we have to produce enough ‘A’ blood. And if the hospital suddenly requires more ‘AB’ blood, we have to go out there and get the ‘AB’ blood.”
“So it’s really very organic and we really need to be on our toes, communicating with the public, and as and when demand changes we need to change accordingly,” Ms Tan added.
This article was first published in CNA
Donate your blood today. Find out more here: http://www.redcross.org.sg/landing/give-blood