Since 2014, Vietnam has received over one million blood units annually, said Assoc. Prof. Nguyen Ha Thanh, director of the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion.
The official made the announcement at the National Blood Transfusion Conference 2024 organized by the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion in Hanoi on April 11.
He emphasized that despite there being 77 blood reception centers nationwide, 91% of the received blood is centralized at 23 hospitals/blood centers.
The Red River Delta region received the highest number of blood units, with 655,842 units, he added, noting that the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion received 485,432 units, including over 450,000 whole blood units and over 35,000 platelet units, accounting for 30% of the national blood intake.
Assoc. Prof. Nguyen Trong Khoa, deputy head of the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment under the Ministry of Health, suggested that the National Blood Center, the National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion, and blood transfusion centers collaborate with units under the Ministry of Health and relevant agencies to focus on proposing solutions to ensure safe and quality blood supply for treatment, even in remote, border, and island areas, by maximizing the utilization of living blood banks in these areas.
In 2023, Vietnam received a total of 1,587,890 blood units, including 1,481,729 whole blood units and 106,161 platelet units, up 6% year on year.
(Suc Khoe Doi Song [1])