South Korea's blood reserves held by the Korean Red Cross fell short of the recommended level on 70% of days so far this year, with shortages of type O blood — the type most often used in emergency transfusions — standing out and prompting calls to manage supply separately by blood type.
Red blood cell stocks fell below the recommended five-day supply on 191 of the 273 days from January through September, or 70.0%, according to data submitted by the Korean Red Cross to Rep. Han Ji-a of the People Power Party, a member of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee, on the 20th.
That already far exceeds the 116 days recorded for all of last year. On April 15 this year, total red blood cell stocks fell to as low as 2.9 days' worth.
Supply was tighter for type O blood, which is used for transfusions when a patient's blood type cannot be confirmed immediately in an emergency. Type O red blood cell stocks fell below the five-day target on 208 days through September. On 48 of those days, stocks were under three days' worth.
The persistent shortage has also driven a sharp rise in directed donations, in which family members or acquaintances donate blood for a specific patient. Directed donations totaled 35,197 cases from January through September, up 339.3% from 8,013 in the same period last year. With the roughly 4.4-fold increase, directed donations accounted for 2.1% of all donations for transfusion in the first nine months of this year, up from 0.8% for all of last year.
"Rather than looking only at overall blood inventories, the government should forecast supply and demand separately for blood needed in emergency transfusions, such as type O, and strengthen the emergency supply system," Han said. "Practical measures are needed so that whether a patient can obtain blood does not depend on the social networks of patients and their families."