Both Ullevål Hospital in Oslo, and Drammen Hospital, reported very low blood supplies, and called for more donors.
The blood bank needs new blood donors at all times, but now it is at code-red critical for blood in Drammen, reported Drammen Tidende newspaper.
“Now we have only half of what we need in stock. If we do not get enough donated, we need to buy blood from other blood banks.It is urgent now’’, said Vendula Wamstad, chief engineer at the blood bank at Drammen hospital.
In the first place, they call for donors who have given before and can give blood quickly. In particular, blood donors with blood type A + are those most needed.
“There are many blood donors who’ve cancelled now, and therefore the stocks have begun to get lean. It is usually connected with flu outbreaks’’, said Wamstad.
Earlier this week, regular blood donors were called by Oslo University Hospital, who reported that that there are low blood stocks there too.There is, among other things, a critically low stock of blood type 0 rhesus minus.
“I experience it as meaningful to give blood. Yesterday I was told that the blood bank was critically low on the stock of blood type 0 rhesus minus,which is also my blood type’’, said blood donor, Ida Oftebro, to Vårt Oslo newspaper.
Ullevål also attributed the blood shortage to the combination of winter holidays and flu season. Operations Manager for ‘Blodbussen’, Svenn Olsen,confirmed that they have called for blood donors.
‘’At the moment, the inventory is lower than we would wish for. The staff at ‘Blodbanken’ therefore call around regular blood donors to ask them give extra blood,” said Olsen.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
