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Minister of Health Ong Ye Kung spoke at an event marking World Blood Donor Day on Jun. 17 and appealed for blood donors to come forward, particularly those with O blood, as its stock has been depleting fast due to high demand.

Pre-travel blood ritual

Ong began by thanking those who had donated blood, saying:

"Most blood donors have donated unconditionally, knowing that they are saving lives, but not knowing the names and faces of people they have helped."

He said that in July 2022, during the Covid-19 pandemic, A+ and O+ blood stocks had come close to falling below critical levels, and the Health Sciences Authority and the Red Cross had attempted to get more donors to come forward.

Ong had posted an appeal for donors on social media. 1,700 blood donors came forward within four days of the appeal.

More than 34,000 patients benefited from Singapore's blood donations last year.

Ong said that that event was one example of blood stocks running low, but that by and large the overall collection of blood had generally kept pace with demand, even through the pandemic.

Since the transition to DORSCON Green, blood usage is increasing as hospitals caught up on elective surgeries and treatments that had been postponed due to the pandemic. Thus, blood stocks have remained at low to moderate levels since January 2023.

Ong appealed for donors from the O Blood group, as it has been experiencing high demand, and stock has been depleting quickly.

He said that Singapore was in the middle of the travelling season, which often means a disruption in blood donation.

"Once we have been to certain countries, we cannot donate blood for a number of weeks," Ong explained.

Therefore, he appealed to donors and potential donors to "make it a habit to donate blood before you travel", particularly now, or just before the Aug. 9 National Day holidays.

Easing of restrictions

Ong also spoke about the easing of Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD) restrictions for blood donors.

Ong said vCJD, which is a rare and serious degenerative neurological disorder, is sometimes referred to as "mad cow disease" due its link to the consumption of contaminated beef products, although it can also occur spontaneously due to genetic mutations.

Concern around the disease, which can incubate in an infected person for decades, and the inability to reliably detect it, meant that several countries including Singapore had disallowed blood donations from people who had lived in countries such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, and France, during particular periods of time, such as during the late 1980's.

Ong himself was affected by this, as he had lived in the UK during the late 1980s while he was studying as an undergraduate.

But a process called "leucodepletion" allows for the removal of white blood cells, that can potentially transmit the disease, from donated blood; thus far there have been no recorded transmissions of vCJD from blood processed this way.

This allowed countries such as the United States and Australia to ease restrictions, and Singapore will follow suit later in 2023.

This, Ong said, will contribute to a more stable blood supply in Singapore.

How to donate blood

If you're considering donating blood, you can take a one-minute eligibility quiz on the Singapore Red Cross website.

You can also find a location to donate blood at this link.

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Top image via Red Cross Singapore & Ong Ye Kung/Facebook