A shortage of blood has emerged in the country as a result of the ongoing disaster situation, according to Dr. Lakshman Edirisinghe, Director of the National Blood Transfusion Service.
Dr. Edirisinghe said the current weather conditions have disrupted the ability to organize mobile blood donation campaigns, which usually supply the majority of daily blood requirements.
“On average, we need between 1,400 and 1,500 blood units per day to maintain the national blood system, and about 85 percent of that usually comes from mobile donation campaigns,” he said.
He warned that the required volume of blood has not been met in recent days, raising concerns over the sustainability of the national blood reserves.
Dr. Edirisinghe appealed to the public to donate blood by visiting main blood centers across the country. “Yesterday, we expected to collect 1,800 units, but we were only able to gather around 231 units,” he noted.
He urged citizens to donate blood at key centers in Jaffna, Anuradhapura, Kurunegala, Ragama, Narahenpita, Kamburugamuwa, Karapitiya, Hambantota, the Apeksha Hospital in Maharagama, and the Colombo National Hospital.
These centres are open for donations from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., while the main centre in Narahenpita remains open from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. (Newswire)