The Trends for Nationwide Blood Collection and the Supply of Blood in Korea during 2002~2006

Baek, Eun Jung; Kim, Hyun Ok; Kim, Sinyoung; Park, Qu Ehn; Oh, Deok Ja

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The recent trends for blood collection and the blood supply were analyzed.
METHODS
Data from the annual reports of the Korean Red Cross from 2002 to 2006 were analyzed.
RESULTS
The number of donors in 2002~2003 was about 2,530,000, but this decreased to 2,300,000 in the past 3 years with the population's donation rate being 4.7%. By age, those donors between 16~29 years made up 83% of all the donors. As donor verification became possible in real-time, blood collection from the registered deferral donors was decreased. Blood drawn by the KRC made up 98% of all the blood collected in Korea. Plasma collection for fractionation had recently decreased because of the blood shortage for transfusion in hospitals. The collection of single donor platelets has increased to up to 25% of all the platelets used in Korea. The supply of pre-storage leuko-reduced RBCs had increased. The inventory levels of blood components were lower than the proper levels for most of the days in 2006. The rate of discarding outdated blood components was markedly decreased due to a shortage of blood. The positive rate in screening tests for transfusion-related infection was an average of 2.4%. By nucleic acid tests,which were initiated from 2005, 14 cases during the window period (10 cases of HCV and 4 cases of HIV) were detected.
CONCLUSION
For insuring a safe supply of blood, the donor information systems and up-to-date tests were deemed to become of good quality. However, the blood shortage should be resolved as soon as possible to maintain a consistent blood supply.