Shortage of blood hits Makassar after Ramadhan

Shortage of blood hits Makassar after Ramadhan

Andi Hajramurni, The Jakarta Post, Makassar

Trembling and shivering with fear, Syahruddin, who says he's
terrified of needles, let a Red Cross paramedic take his blood.
It was his first time ever to donate blood.

"First, I was really scared as I imagined the needle
puncturing through my skin and flesh. However, I have to go
through with it as my sister is now hospitalized and she needs
blood," said Syahruddin recently at the Indonesian Red Cross
(PMI) clinic in Makassar, South Sulawesi.

He said that he had originally intended to buy blood. However,
the PMI they had none. Alternatively, Syahruddin asked a becak
(pedicab) driver at the front of the office if he wanted to
donate blood for his sister. However, Syahruddin felt that the
price of Rp 200,000 (US$22) per 250cc bag demanded by the driver
was too high, especially in light of the fact that the official
price charged by the PMI is Rp 110,000 per bag.

And so, the doughty Syahruddin went back inside the clinic,
where a PMI staffer suggested that he look for family members who
had the same blood type as his sister. "I had no idea at all at
that time which relative I would ask for help. I was beginning to
run out of time. The doctor who was treating my sister said she
desperately needed blood and could not wait much longer," he
said. His sister had just given birth.

"I could not afford to buy blood so I plucked up all my
courage and decided to do the honors myself," said Syahruddin.

After having had has blood group tested, it was found that
Syahruddin had the same blood type as his sister.

Syahruddin had to go through hard challenges following the
shortage of blood supply in the city in the post Idul Fitri
holidays. The figures show that the PMI in Makassar has been
slowly running out of blood over the past 15 days, while the
demand from hospitals, not only in Makassar but also in districts
around the province, has remained persistently high. The PMI in
Makassar receives between 50 and 60 requests for blood per day.

Blood Transfusion Unit director Mardiani Radjuni confirmed on
Wednesday that the blood supply had run low over Ramadhan.
Fasting apparently discouraged people from donating blood.

"We had no donors during the fasting period, but the requests
kept coming. All the blood we had was donated before Ramadhan,
and the supply quickly ran out," she said.

Mardiani said that donors had returned after the Idul Fitri
holidays, but the amount of blood being donated was still small.
On Wednesday last week, the PMI in Makassar only had 56 bags of
blood donated to it, and these ran out quickly.

To keep up with the demand, the PMI requested institutions
that regularly held blood donation drives to organize new ones
immediately. Mardiani said that the PMI collaborated with 236
institutions, both public and private, including student
organizations.

She hoped that the blood supply problem could be overcome
soon, especially as the city was experiencing a dengue fever
outbreak. The demand for blood surges dramatically during dengue
outbreaks.

The PMI in Makassar serves 27 general and maternity hospitals
throughout the province. Its workload has been lightened somewhat
since the Wahidin Sudirohusodo hospital opened its own blood
transfusion unit.