Vienna, July 08, 2022 | After numerous calls for blood donations from the Red Cross to the federal government, doctors are also warning of a bottleneck. A shortage of blood supplies should “not lead to a postponement of surgeries,” said the Society for Anaesthesiology, Resuscitation and Intensive Care Medicine (ÖGARI) on Friday.
Care for the seriously ill and injured at risk
Especially after accidents with severe bleeding, the administration of blood components can be life-saving, emphasized ÖGARI President Walter Hasibeder. “But also with ruptured aortic aneurysms and generally in major abdominal surgery, as well as transplantation surgery, severe bleeding can occur and blood transfusions are often unavoidable and life-saving,” explained the doctor in a broadcast.
Seriously ill or seriously injured people who urgently need a major surgical procedure with a risk of bleeding should not have to wait for the operation because of a shortage of transfusion supplies, ÖGARI warned of such a risk and called on the population to donate blood.
Only 3.7 percent of the population donate
In Austria, a blood unit is needed every 90 seconds, i.e. around 1,000 units a day. Of these, 70 percent are reserved for the long term, for example for planned surgeries. 30 percent are needed acutely, for example during childbirth, after accidents or as an add-on during operations.
“However, the blood preserves can be kept for a maximum of 42 days, which requires continuous application of the preserves,” explains Dr. Ursula Kreil, head of collection at the blood donation center for Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland.” In addition, not every blood donation is compatible with every recipient – keyword blood groups. Currently, only around 3.7 percent of the population of donating age donate blood. In 2021 that was exactly 222,295 people.
All information about blood donation and possible reasons for exclusion is there online. On the Term Finder you can find out where the nearest opportunity to donate blood is nearby. If you want to be reminded to donate blood when stock levels are low, you can get one appropriate reminder send.
(pma / apa)
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