City pumps new 'blood' into the system

• Source: Global Times
• [14:11 August 19 2010]
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By Chen Xiaoru

The city is running on a moderately low supply of type A blood with a code yellow alert issued according to a new blood management system, said authorities Wednesday.

The system, which was officially put into use last month after a month-long trial run, is being spearheaded by the Shanghai Blood Administration Office, in an effort to better manage the supply of blood in the city.

According to Zhang Tongyu, director of quality supervision for the Shanghai Blood Administration Office, the city requires a daily amount of some 1,200 pouches of blood.

"Each bag holds about 200 millimeters of blood," he told the Global Times Wednesday. "When the blood supply falls below the amount of blood needed for five days over more than three consecutive days, we immediately issue the code yellow alert.

"We're keeping the code yellow alert on to warn hospitals," he added. "But there's no reason to panic right now."

The system works on three warning levels: yellow, orange and red. When a code yellow alert is issued for a certain type of blood, the city's blood bank will allocate 30 percent less of that blood type to local hospitals. A code orange alert means a 50-percent reduction in the supply to hospitals, while hospitals will receive 70 percent less blood when the city is running on a code red alert.

The alerts will be sent to hospitals to keep medical professionals informed of the city's blood supply situation, and if need be, surgical operations should be adjusted accordingly, he added.

"In the past, hospitals have been in the dark regarding the city's blood supply," he said. "The new system will help prevent avoidable problems resulting from blood supply shortages from occurring."

Blood donation centers will also be notified by the alert system, which will help them target donors, whose blood type, is most needed, he added.

Zhang said the city typically runs short of type A blood about twice a year though the number of residents with type A blood make up no more than those with type B and type O blood, each of whom account for roughly 30 percent of the population. Type AB blood residents comprise the remaining 10 percent.