Debated in Parliament on 14 Jan 2019.
Dr Chia Shi-Lu asked the Minister for Health (a) how does our resident population blood donor rate compare with other developed countries, such as South Korea, Germany and the US; (b) what contingency measures are in place for blood shortages; and (c) how will the Ministry ensure that blood donations keep up with increasing blood usage due to our ageing population.
The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) is responsible for providing a safe and adequate blood supply for our patients. It works closely with the Singapore Red Cross (SRC) to recruit voluntary blood donors under the National Blood Programme. SRC leverages its networks with companies, communities, hospitals, religious groups, schools and the uniformed groups to recruit blood donors.
About 73,000 blood donors contributed to the blood programme in 2017, giving a donor participation rate of 1.8%. This is comparable to countries and cities in the Asia Pacific region, such as Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong, where donor participation rates range between 1.9% and 2.2%.
Overall, our donor pool has been adequate to meet blood demand. Nevertheless, occasional blood shortages may arise, especially during festive seasons or school holidays, when many blood donors travel overseas. In such a situation, the SRC will ramp up recall efforts through social media, text messages and direct donor calls. More mobile blood drives may also be set up across the island. During rare instances when blood stocks fall below a critical level, HSA may work with hospitals to postpone some non-urgent surgeries until the blood stocks improve. HSA and SRC may also launch an appeal for blood donations through the mass media.
We have embarked on efforts to improve our outreach. For example, HSA has built satellite blood banks closer to where donors live, work or study. HSA and SRC have also focused on getting more young people to become regular blood donors. Frequent mobile drives are also set up at schools, polytechnics and universities. We encourage the community to volunteer to become regular blood donors, particularly as demand will increase over time.
PAPERCUTS