Shortage of blood hits Makassar after Ramadhan<\/p>\n
Andi Hajramurni, The Jakarta Post, Makassar<\/p>\n
Trembling and shivering with fear, Syahruddin, who says he's
\nterrified of needles, let a Red Cross paramedic take his blood.
\nIt was his first time ever to donate blood.<\/p>\n
\"First, I was really scared as I imagined the needle
\npuncturing through my skin and flesh. However, I have to go
\nthrough with it as my sister is now hospitalized and she needs
\nblood,\" said Syahruddin recently at the Indonesian Red Cross
\n(PMI) clinic in Makassar, South Sulawesi.<\/p>\n
He said that he had originally intended to buy blood. However,
\nthe PMI they had none. Alternatively, Syahruddin asked a becak
\n(pedicab) driver at the front of the office if he wanted to
\ndonate blood for his sister. However, Syahruddin felt that the
\nprice of Rp 200,000 (US$22) per 250cc bag demanded by the driver
\nwas too high, especially in light of the fact that the official
\nprice charged by the PMI is Rp 110,000 per bag.<\/p>\n
And so, the doughty Syahruddin went back inside the clinic,
\nwhere a PMI staffer suggested that he look for family members who
\nhad the same blood type as his sister. \"I had no idea at all at
\nthat time which relative I would ask for help. I was beginning to
\nrun out of time. The doctor who was treating my sister said she
\ndesperately needed blood and could not wait much longer,\" he
\nsaid. His sister had just given birth.<\/p>\n
\"I could not afford to buy blood so I plucked up all my
\ncourage and decided to do the honors myself,\" said Syahruddin.<\/p>\n
After having had has blood group tested, it was found that
\nSyahruddin had the same blood type as his sister.<\/p>\n
Syahruddin had to go through hard challenges following the
\nshortage of blood supply in the city in the post Idul Fitri
\nholidays. The figures show that the PMI in Makassar has been
\nslowly running out of blood over the past 15 days, while the
\ndemand from hospitals, not only in Makassar but also in districts
\naround the province, has remained persistently high. The PMI in
\nMakassar receives between 50 and 60 requests for blood per day.<\/p>\n
Blood Transfusion Unit director Mardiani Radjuni confirmed on
\nWednesday that the blood supply had run low over Ramadhan.
\nFasting apparently discouraged people from donating blood.<\/p>\n
\"We had no donors during the fasting period, but the requests
\nkept coming. All the blood we had was donated before Ramadhan,
\nand the supply quickly ran out,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Mardiani said that donors had returned after the Idul Fitri
\nholidays, but the amount of blood being donated was still small.
\nOn Wednesday last week, the PMI in Makassar only had 56 bags of
\nblood donated to it, and these ran out quickly.<\/p>\n
To keep up with the demand, the PMI requested institutions
\nthat regularly held blood donation drives to organize new ones
\nimmediately. Mardiani said that the PMI collaborated with 236
\ninstitutions, both public and private, including student
\norganizations.<\/p>\n
She hoped that the blood supply problem could be overcome
\nsoon, especially as the city was experiencing a dengue fever
\noutbreak. The demand for blood surges dramatically during dengue
\noutbreaks.<\/p>\n
The PMI in Makassar serves 27 general and maternity hospitals
\nthroughout the province. Its workload has been lightened somewhat
\nsince the Wahidin Sudirohusodo hospital opened its own blood
\ntransfusion unit.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/shortage-of-blood-hits-makassar-after-ramadhan-1447893297",
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